U.S. corn farmers have grown one huge crop after another for years as biofuels boomed domestically and global demand was constant. However, over the past couple of years, China has increasingly been looking to South America and the Black Sea Region for its corn purchases and in 2013 the U.S. saw corn exports hit a four-decade low. As a result of this emerging competition, a flattening of U.S. biofuel mandates, and falling corn prices, U.S. corm farmers are turning cautious. Federal data indicates that farmers outside the U.S. will harvest 349 million acres of corn in the current crop year – up 35 million acres from last year. For the last 40 years the U.S. has accounted for two thirds of global corn exports – this fell to a record low of less than 20% in 2013. Although U.S. exports are rebounding, they are forecasted to reach only 36% in the current crop year. After years of avoiding corn imports, China has emerged as a major buyer sparking significant production increases in Ukraine, Argentina, and Brazil, and with it volatility in prices for U.S. farmers.
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