INTERNATIONAL CORN TRADE

International Corn Trade



Abstract

Foreign markets are essential to the future growth of U.S. agriculture, and critical to the existence of U.S. farmers. Growth in foreign markets for U.S. products helps strengthen the dollar and helps reduce the national trade imbalance. Understanding the economic effects of trade barriers on U.S. corn exports will reduce uncertainty in the international market and lead to stabilization of corn production. This information is essential for corn farmers, merchandisers, processors, exporters, association groups and government officials whose task is to maintain the U.S. competitive edge in world corn markets. A better understanding of the trade barriers (tariff and non-tariffs) could lead to policies which would optimize the efficient allocation of the U.S. corn trade, thereby benefiting producers, transporters, exporters, and consumers. In this paper, we try to focus on the International corn trade.

Table of Contents

Outline of the paper4

Introduction4

Background5

Methodology5

Discussion6

International Corn Trade8

Graphical Representation of International Trade of Corn10

Conclusion13

References14



International Corn Trade

Outline of the paper

The paper consist of the following outline

Introduction

Background

Methodology

Discussion

International Corn Trade

Graphical Representation of International Corn Trade

Conclusion

Introduction

Today, corn is a globally important food crop. It originated in the Americas, specifically in central Mexico, from a plant the Aztecs called teosinte in their Nahuatl language, meaning “the mother of corn.” It is believed to have originated on a single mountain in southern Mexico. Teosinte still grows wild in southern Mexico and northern Central America; however, it is not corn. It took thousands of years for the plant to be developed into modern corn. As it became corn, it was able to support the Mayan and later Aztec civilizations, becoming a god (and sometimes a goddess) that they worshipped as their corn culture became central to their survival. If International economics relations have become crucial to United States, they are even more crucial to other nations. The United States, by virtue of its size and the diversity of its resources, relies less on international trade than almost any other country (Paul, 2009).

Background

Everybody knows that some international trade is beneficial, nobody thinks that Norway should grow it own oranges. Many people are skeptical, however, about the benefits of trading goods that a country could produce for itself (Paul, 2009). The development of corn as a food is one of the greatest of human achievements. From this miraculous agricultural achievement has come a major food source for millions of descendants of the Indians who first produced corn, as well as hundreds of millions of people and countless animals around the world.

Corn is a hybrid that seems to have originated from genetic mutations of some teosinte plants about 9,000 years ago. Since then, corn has been a hybrid plant dependent on humans for its continued existence. It is an existence that, since Christopher Columbus, has spread from the Americas around the world to most of the places humans' farm. The only cereal to outrank corn in production as a cereal grain is wheat. Rice is in third place (Hardeman, 1981). Organically grown corn like this is surrounded by more weeds ...