7. World Markets for Cereal Crops

Cereals, especially corn and wheat, are feedstocks to produce biofuels (e.g., ethanol). However, they are mainly used as food and feed. This chapter describes the global developments of cereal markets, especially wheat, corn and barley with a special focus on major countries. Wheat is mainly used as food. While China and India are large producers, they do not play a role in wheat export markets which are dominated by the European Union (EU), Russia, Canada, the United States (US) and Ukraine. The corn market grew strongly in the last 15 years. The United States is the largest corn producer, consumer and exporter. The barley market, dominated by the European Union, is stagnating. However, exports have increased in the last years. Biofuel policies have increased the demand for corn, especially in the United States, as well as for wheat, especially in the European Union. However due to changing polices this trend is unlikely to continue in the future. Additionally, global trends and possible future developments are discussed.