The overall value of corn imports increased by an average 51.3% from all importing countries since five years earlier in 2019 when corn purchases were valued at $40.2 billion.
Year over year, international purchases of corn fell by -15.8% compared to $72.2 billion starting in 2022.
The 5 biggest importers of corn in 2023 were mainland China, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Spain. That cohort of major corn buyers paid over four-fifths (42.3%) of total international spending on corn imported in 2023.
From a continental perspective, buyers in Asian countries spent the most on imported corn during 2023 with purchases costing $28.4 billion or 46.7% of the global total. In second place were European importers at 21.3% while 11.4% of globally imported corn was delivered to Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Another 11.3% was sent to importers in North America.
Smaller percentages were sold to customers in Africa (9.3%) and Oceania (0.01%) led by Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for corn is 1005.
Corn Imports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that spent the most on imported corn during 2023.
- mainland China: US$9 billion (14.8% of total imported corn)
- Mexico: $5.6 billion (9.2%)
- Japan: $4.9 billion (8.1%)
- South Korea: $3.5 billion (5.8%)
- Spain: $2.7 billion (4.4%)
- Vietnam: $2.6 billion (4.2%)
- Egypt: $2.5 billion (4%)
- Italy: $2 billion (3.3%)
- Colombia: $1.9 billion (3.1%)
- Netherlands: $1.6 billion (2.6%)
- Taiwan: $1.27 billion (2.1%)
- Iran: $1.26 billion (2.1%)
- Malaysia: $1.11 billion (1.8%)
- Algeria: $1.08 billion (1.8%)
- Germany: $1.07 billion (1.8%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased over two-thirds (69%) of all corn imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the growth markets for corn since 2022 were world leader mainland China (up 27%), Algeria (up 15.9%) and Mexico (up 2.4%).
Those countries that posted declines in their imported corn purchases were led by: Iran (down -63.4% from 2022), Spain (down -27.4%), Taiwan (down -27%) and Vietnam (down -22.9%).
Searchable List of Corn Importing Countries in 2023
The 100 key importers in the automated database below represent 99.3% of global spending on imported corn during 2023.
| Rank | Importer | Corn Imports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | mainland China | $9,019,734,000 | +27% |
| 2. | Mexico | $5,569,318,000 | +2.4% |
| 3. | Japan | $4,916,820,000 | -16% |
| 4. | South Korea | $3,540,892,000 | -17.2% |
| 5. | Spain | $2,667,641,000 | -27.4% |
| 6. | Vietnam | $2,573,339,000 | -22.9% |
| 7. | Egypt | $2,455,977,000 | -19.5% |
| 8. | Italy | $1,993,900,000 | -15.1% |
| 9. | Colombia | $1,864,848,000 | -13.9% |
| 10. | Netherlands | $1,570,886,000 | -7.7% |
| 11. | Taiwan | $1,273,205,000 | -27% |
| 12. | Iran | $1,261,073,000 | -63.4% |
| 13. | Malaysia | $1,105,850,000 | -12.3% |
| 14. | Algeria | $1,075,045,000 | +15.9% |
| 15. | Germany | $1,072,052,000 | -19% |
| 16. | Peru | $1,030,178,000 | -20.3% |
| 17. | Canada | $895,250,000 | -38.5% |
| 18. | Saudi Arabia | $808,638,000 | -52.4% |
| 19. | Morocco | $739,274,000 | -3.4% |
| 20. | United Kingdom | $714,713,000 | -15.9% |
| 21. | Chile | $679,104,000 | -27.7% |
| 22. | Portugal | $623,473,000 | -17.3% |
| 23. | Türkiye | $600,668,000 | -48.5% |
| 24. | Belgium | $527,957,000 | -17.8% |
| 25. | Guatemala | $523,544,000 | -8.4% |
| 26. | Thailand | $459,189,000 | +2.7% |
| 27. | United States | $433,054,000 | +22.6% |
| 28. | Hungary | $432,514,000 | -30.4% |
| 29. | France | $411,638,000 | 0% |
| 30. | Dominican Republic | $403,830,000 | -16.2% |
| 31. | Romania | $388,529,000 | -26.3% |
| 32. | Indonesia | $367,690,000 | -6.8% |
| 33. | Ireland | $361,153,000 | -32% |
| 34. | Poland | $335,686,000 | -49.8% |
| 35. | Costa Rica | $321,534,000 | +9.8% |
| 36. | Israel | $320,664,000 | -32.7% |
| 37. | Venezuela | $303,995,000 | +4.1% |
| 38. | Austria | $300,489,000 | -33% |
| 39. | Philippines | $296,108,000 | -16.1% |
| 40. | Brazil | $276,320,000 | -54.9% |
| 41. | Honduras | $274,846,000 | 0% |
| 42. | Tunisia | $274,367,000 | -7.5% |
| 43. | Iraq | $271,864,000 | +38% |
| 44. | El Salvador | $254,216,000 | -11.5% |
| 45. | Bangladesh | $223,433,000 | -68.7% |
| 46. | Uruguay | $203,331,000 | +194.1% |
| 47. | Jordan | $200,610,000 | -34.6% |
| 48. | Yemen | $183,793,000 | +7.3% |
| 49. | Greece | $166,799,000 | -26.3% |
| 50. | Kenya | $164,884,000 | -20.6% |
| 51. | Panama | $160,005,000 | -21% |
| 52. | Zimbabwe | $152,029,000 | +289.2% |
| 53. | Nicaragua | $144,612,000 | -23.6% |
| 54. | United Arab Emirates | $142,579,000 | -30% |
| 55. | Oman | $138,364,000 | +102.8% |
| 56. | Senegal | $136,105,000 | -8.2% |
| 57. | Slovakia | $132,025,000 | -14.8% |
| 58. | Russia | $128,513,000 | -18.7% |
| 59. | Paraguay | $117,515,000 | +24.5% |
| 60. | Czech Republic | $117,311,000 | +25.3% |
| 61. | Ecuador | $114,384,000 | -1.7% |
| 62. | Lebanon | $112,532,000 | -24.2% |
| 63. | Nepal | $105,819,000 | -21.2% |
| 64. | Jamaica | $101,141,000 | -17% |
| 65. | Croatia | $89,650,000 | +21.1% |
| 66. | Cyprus | $87,231,000 | -25.6% |
| 67. | Bulgaria | $83,447,000 | -9.9% |
| 68. | Argentina | $81,284,000 | +112.7% |
| 69. | Latvia | $79,740,000 | +40.2% |
| 70. | Pakistan | $72,335,000 | -18.5% |
| 71. | Denmark | $71,956,000 | -33.9% |
| 72. | Switzerland | $70,649,000 | -31.8% |
| 73. | Slovenia | $70,546,000 | +1.7% |
| 74. | Libya | $69,948,000 | -57.5% |
| 75. | Rwanda | $69,015,000 | +87.9% |
| 76. | Serbia | $68,770,000 | +50.2% |
| 77. | Cambodia | $64,000,000 | +23.1% |
| 78. | Botswana | $62,451,000 | -4.9% |
| 79. | Sri Lanka | $59,109,000 | -12.9% |
| 80. | Lithuania | $58,892,000 | -29.2% |
| 81. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $57,921,000 | -15.1% |
| 82. | Mozambique | $55,090,000 | +43.9% |
| 83. | Ukraine | $54,377,000 | -26.8% |
| 84. | Belarus | $46,565,000 | +3.3% |
| 85. | Namibia | $46,133,000 | -2.4% |
| 86. | Mauritius | $45,489,000 | +2% |
| 87. | Eswatini | $42,913,000 | -4.9% |
| 88. | Myanmar | $38,858,000 | -10.4% |
| 89. | Tanzania | $36,047,000 | +16.3% |
| 90. | Kuwait | $34,250,000 | -62% |
| 91. | Moldova | $30,084,000 | -33.7% |
| 92. | Democratic Rep. Congo | $28,009,000 | +163.8% |
| 93. | Trinidad/Tobago | $25,470,000 | -30.4% |
| 94. | Norway | $25,150,000 | -35.1% |
| 95. | Guyana | $23,903,000 | +11.7% |
| 96. | Syria | $23,657,000 | -21.1% |
| 97. | Lesotho | $22,593,000 | 0% |
| 98. | Kazakhstan | $22,396,000 | +25.6% |
| 99. | South Africa | $22,143,000 | -15.7% |
| 100. | Uzbekistan | $20,912,000 | -29.1% |
The strongest increases in spending from 2022 to 2023 belong to corn importers in Zimbabwe (up 289.2%), Uruguay (up 194.1%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (up 163.8%), Argentina (up 112.7%) and Oman (up 102.8%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2022 data was available.
Corn Imports into China
Mainland China’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$9 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the People’s Republic imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Brazil: US$4 billion (up 404,640,800% from 2022)
- United States of America: $2.6 billion (down -50.6%)
- Ukraine: $1.8 billion (up 9.8%)
- Bulgaria: $244.6 million (up 388.5%)
- Myanmar: $130.2 million (up 98.6%)
- Russia: $91.7 million (up 208.9%)
- South Africa: $52.6 million (up 12,781%)
- Laos: $23.7 million (up 32.7%)
- France: $3.9 million (up 48.4%)
- Kazakhstan: $2.3 million (up 183.2%)
- Peru: $998,000 (up 115.1%)
- Germany: $650,000 (down -44%)
- Argentina: $575,000 (down -30%)
- Chile: $39,000 (down -91.6%)
- Hungary: $5,000 (up 400%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.9999% of corn imported by mainland China in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of corn to China since 2022 were: Brazil (up 404,640,800%), South Africa (up 12,781%), Hungary (up 400%) and Bulgaria (up 388.5%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their corn supplied to Chinese importers included: Chile (down -91.6% from 2022), United States of America (down -50.6%), Germany (down -44%) and Argentina (down -30%).
Overall, the value of China’s imported corn accelerated by an average 27% from all supplying countries since 2022 when corn purchased cost $7.1 billion.
Corn Imports into Mexico
Mexico’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$5.57 billion in 2023. Below are the top suppliers from which Mexico imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying from country from 2022 to 2023.
- United States of America: US$5.2 billion (down -0.1% from 2022)
- Brazil: $269.9 million (up 53.6%)
- South Africa: $57.4 million (up 267.3%)
- Chile: $4.4 million (up 2.3%)
- Argentina: $424,000 (2022 data unavailable)
- France: $16,000 (down -91.3%)
- Hungary: $1,000 (down -50%)
By value, the listed countries shipped 100% of corn imported by Mexico in 2023.
Among the above countries, the growth suppliers of corn to Mexico since 2022 were: South Africa (up 267.3%), Brazil (up 53.6%) and Chile (up 2.3%).
Overall, the value of Mexico’s imported corn rose by an average 2.4% from all supplying countries since 2022 when corn purchased cost $5.4 billion.
Corn Imports into Japan
Japan’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$4.92 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Japan imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- United States of America: US$2.3 billion (down -37.8% from 2022)
- Brazil: $2.1 billion (up 57%)
- Argentina: $217.5 million (down -46.5%)
- South Africa: $194.9 million (down -33%)
- Ukraine: $21.7 million (down -32%)
- Romania: $13.7 million (2022 data unavailable)
- France: $9.3 million (down -5.5%)
- Paraguay: $5.7 million (2022 data unavailable)
- Peru: $3.4 million (up 35.7%)
- India: $2 million (down -22.8%)
- Russia: $1.2 million (up 66.1%)
- Chile: $1.2 million (up 35.1%)
- Austria: $1.2 million (up 907.8%)
- Germany: $641,000 (down -32%)
- Thailand: $313,000 (up 39.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.98% of corn imported by Japan in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of corn to Japan since 2022 were: Austria (up 907.8%), Russia (up 66.1%), Brazil (up 57%) and Thailand (up 39.1%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their corn supplied to Japanese importers included: Argentina (down -46.5% from 2022), United States of America (down -37.8%), South Africa (down -33%) and Germany (down -32%).
Overall, the value of Japan’s imported corn dropped by an average -16% from all supplying countries since 2022 when corn purchased cost $5.9 billion.
Corn Imports into South Korea
South Korea’s global purchases of imported corn totaled US$3.54 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which South Korea imported the highest dollar value worth of corn during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Brazil: US$1.1 billion (up 54.3% from 2022)
- Argentina: $905.5 million (down -52.3%)
- Ukraine: $508.8 million (up 0.7%)
- Romania: $313.6 million (up 121.4%)
- United States of America: $295.2 million (down -49.7%)
- South Africa: $170.1 million (up 100.2%)
- Paraguay: $123.5 million (up 88.3%)
- Russia: $61.8 million (down -25.6%)
- Bulgaria: $29.5 million (down -38.8%)
- Australia: $27.9 million (down -1.3%)
- Moldova: $16.5 million (up 321.6%)
- Serbia: $11 million (down -89.4%)
- New Zealand: $2.1 million (down -13.2%)
- Pakistan: $398,000 (down -97.9%)
- India: $200,000 (down -36.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.99% of corn imported by South Korea in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of corn to South Korea since 2022 were: Moldova (up 321.6%), Romania (up 121.4%), South Africa (up 100.2%) and Paraguay (up 88.3%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their corn supplied to Korean importers included: Pakistan (down -97.9% from 2022), Serbia (down -89.4%), Argentina (down -52.3%) and United States of America (down -49.7%).
Overall, the value of South Korea’s imported corn declined by an average -17.2% from all supplying countries since 2022 when corn purchased cost $4.3 billion.
See also Corn Exports by Country, China’s Top Trading Partners, Mexico’s Top Trading Partners, Japan’s Top Trading Partners and South Korea’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Imports – Commodities. Accessed on August 11, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 11, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 11, 2024
Wikipedia, Maize. Accessed on August 11, 2024