International Purchases Are Not Cancelled Amid U.S. COVID-19 Scare
March 23, 2020

The economy might be stalled here in the U.S. while many states are on full shut-down to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but international purchases continue. This is good news for Illinois farmers who sell well over half of their corn and corn co-products like ethanol and DDGS to overseas markets.
Notably:
- Port workers were designated essential workforce under Louisiana’s “stay at home” declaration. This applies to port workers in the pacific northwest as well.
- The Federal Grain Inspection Service will “take all steps necessary” to ensure continuation of inspections for grain exports.
- Chinese firms have purchased another 250,000 tonnes of US corn, bringing recent purchases to roughly 1 MMT. There are rumors of new Chinese purchases of up to 2.5 MMT of US corn.
In terms of global supply and demand of corn, a newly published USDA report shares that although Brazilian corn has dominated Japanese corn purchases over the past few months, experts expect Japan to buy U.S. corn soon. Brazilian stocks are low and U.S. corn is priced competitively for the global marketplace.

By Lindsay Croke
•
June 30, 2025
When we think of Independence Day traditions, sweet corn on the cob is as iconic as fireworks and often even more central to the celebration. According to Instacart, purchases of sweet corn surge by 380% over the annual average heading into July 4th, outranking other grilling staples like baby back ribs and burgers. But corn's role in your Fourth of July celebration goes far beyond your plate. In Illinois alone, 8,300 acres of sweet corn are harvested annually, averaging 155 cwt per acre. That’s more than 128 million pounds of locally grown sweetness fueling summer cookouts across the state. And while sweet corn makes a big impression on the grill, most of Illinois’ corn crop isn’t sweet corn - it’s field corn. Less than 1% of the state’s crop is sweet corn, while the rest is used in products that are often invisible to consumers but vital to everyday life: fuel, packaging, fireworks, and even spirits.