Corn Price

Corn is part of a group of commodities referred to as agricultural commodities, representing crops and livestock that are harvested and raised to provide food for humans and animals.

 

Quick Overview of Corn

✔️An overview of corn
✔️The production of corn
✔️Trading corn as a commodity
Factors driving the price of corn as a commodity
The uses of corn
Seven interesting facts about corn

 

An overview of corn

As a commodity

Agricultural commodities are traded globally and are categorised into six groups:

• Cereal grains, including corn, wheat, barley, oats, and rough rice. Cereal grains are a source of food for humans and feed for livestock. Corn is also used in the production of fuel such as ethanol.
• Meat, comprising livestock like lean hogs and cattle, is classified into the following categories once the livestock is butchered: meat, hides, organs, bones, and hooves.
• Oilseeds, such as canola, palm oil, and soybeans, are cultivated for their high oil content. This category also includes the commodity cotton, of which the fibres are used to manufacture houseware items and clothes.
• Dairy includes the trading of the following products as commodities: butter, cheddar cheese, milk, including class III milk (cheese milk), class IV milk, and nonfat dry milk, dry whey, and eggs.
• Soft commodities comprise products like tea (black and green), coffee, frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ), sugar, and cocoa. These commodities are unique in the sense that they are grown year after year, and the crop ends at harvest.
• Miscellaneous agricultural commodities contain commodities that do not fit into one of the other five groups of agricultural commodities. Examples of these commodities are rubber (natural and synthetic), lumber, and wool.

In some countries and regions corn is known as maize.

 

Varieties of corn

There are more than fifty varieties of corn. The following are examples of well-known varieties of corn:

• Sweetcorn

Sweetcorn, also called sugar corn, is a mutation of the standard dent corn (field corn). This type of corn is harvested while the kernels are still immature.

• Dent corn

Dent corn, also known as field corn, is the most common type of corn, accounting for about 99 percent of corn production in the USA. Dent corn derives its name from the tiny but noticeable ‘dents’ at the top of each kernel.

• Popcorn

Features of popcorn include, among others, the following: Hard outer shell, minimal soft starch content, and kernels that contain a high moisture content, turning to steam when heated. ‘As the steam builds up, so does the pressure, until the hull tears open, enabling the kernel to explode to up to 50 times its original size,’ according to the website GrowVeg.com.

• Flour corn

Flour corn, one of the oldest varieties of corn, is composed mainly of soft starch and has soft powdery kernels which are easily grounded. It is a key source of corn flour.

• Flint corn

Flint corn, commonly called Indian corn or calico corn, contains multi-coloured kernels. It is named after its hard (as in hard like flint) glassy outer shell. Flint corn comprises less soft starch than dent corn.

• Pod corn

Pod corn is primarily cultivated for ornamental purposes. Pod corn also referred to as tunicate maize, has kernels on the cob that are covered by glumes (long membranous husks). Contrarily, in other types of corn, the seeds are naked.

 

Interesting facts about the corn plant

• The corn plant is a tall annual grass, comprising a single stem, called a stalk, which grows vertically upward. The stalks are usually 2.13 to 3.05 metres (7 to 10 feet) tall.
• As the stalk grows, large narrow leaves emerge, which wrap their lower parts around the stalk. The lower parts of the leaves are attached to the stalk at a juncture referred to as the node.
• The leaves are spaced alternately on the opposite sides of the stark.
• Furthermore, as the corn stalk grows, it produces both male and female flowers. The male flower, which is called the tassel, ‘emerges from the top of the plant after all the leaves have emerged. The tassel usually consists of several branches, along which many small male flowers are situated. Each male flower releases a large number of pollen grains, each of which contains the male sex cell,’ as described by Plant & Soil Sciences eLibrary. A female flower is called an ear. A female flower grows out from a leaf node approximately midway between the ground and the tassel. Silks – hair-like structures – protrude from each female ear. Corn silks are described as ‘tiny tubes.’
• Pollination occurs when the pollen from male flowers is blown onto the silks protruding from the female ears. Each pollinated silk will eventually produce a single kernel of corn.
• The central core of an ear, which is the part of the ear on which the kernels grow, is called a corn cob (also spelled corncob) or cob of corn. Each corn plant produces one to three cobs each.
• Corn cobs can contain between 500 and 1 000 kernels, which come in an even number of rows. The average con cob contains 800 kernels in 16 rows. Kernels, also called corn seeds, come in all shapes and sizes.

Historians are of the opinion that corn was first domesticated and cultivated about 7,000 to 10,000 years ago in southern Mexico.

Before Christopher Columbus brought corn from Cuba to Europe in 1492, Europeans had never heard of corn.

Since its introduction into Europe, corn has spread to all regions of the world suitable for its cultivation. To such an extent that corn is grown on all the continents except Antarctica.

 

Classes of corn

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Standards for Corn, there are three classes of corn, described as follows:

• Yellow corn refers to corn that is yellow-kerneled, containing not more than 5.0 percent of other colours. Yellow kernels of corn with a slight tinge of red are considered Yellow corn.
• White corn is corn that is white-kerneled and contains not more than 2.0 percent of corn of other colours. White corn kernels with a slight tinge of light straw or pink colour are regarded as White corn.
• Mixed corn is corn that does not meet the colour requirements for either of the two classes mentioned above. Mixed corn included white-capped Yellow corn.

 

The production of corn

• Present-day major global producers of corn

Based on information obtained from Statista, the following countries were the largest producers of corn in 2025/2022:

1. USA: 393 943 metric tonnes (MT)

Corn is a traditional cereal grain cultivated in the United States of America (USA). Approximately 70 percent of the country’s corn is cultivated in states in the so-called ‘corn-soybean belt,’ located in the North Central Region of the country. Iowa is referred to as ‘The Corn State’ in the USA.

2. China: 272 552 MT

In 2019, forty-one million hectares of agricultural land were allocated for the cultivation of corn. Corn is mainly grown in so-called yellow China, on the territory of the North China Plain.

3. Brazil: 115 000 MT

The country’s favourable climate allows for the cultivation of numerous agricultural products, including coffee, sugar cane, cocoa, soybeans, and corn, to name a few.

In 2019, 18.1 million hectares of agricultural land were allocated for the growing of corn. The average corn yield was 5.6 tonnes per hectare.

4. European Union (EU), comprising 27 countries: 69 960 MT

As of 2025, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary are the major corn producers of the European Union.

5. Argentina: 54 000 MT

The average yield of the country’s crop production was 8.2 tonnes per hectare in 2019.

6. Ukraine: 42 000 MT

Ukraine was the largest producer of corn in Europe in 2025/2022. The largest importers of corn from Ukraine are the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK). It is too early to tell how the Russian war in Ukraine will impact the corn production of the country in the nearby future.

7. India: 30 000 MT

The country’s primary crops are rice, wheat, and corn, primarily cultivated on small land plots where traditional farming methods are mostly used.

In 2019, about 9.5 million hectares of India’s agricultural land was available for the production of corn, with an average yield of corn of 3.1 tonnes per hectare.

8. Mexico: 27 600 MT

Mexico was the first country to start the mass production of corn, which is a priority grain crop for Mexicans. In 2019, 6.8 million hectares were planted with corn, yielding 3.7 tonnes per hectare.

9. South Africa: 17 000 MT

Despite poor agricultural conditions such as low rainfall and limited surface water resources, corn is one of South Africa’s main export crops. In 2019, 2.9 million hectares of the country were planted with crops, generating 4.8 tonnes per hectare.

10. Russia: 15 000 MT

Corn is primarily produced in the Volga, North Caucasian, and Central Black soil regions. In 2019, the sown area covered 2.45 million hectares of corn, with an average yield of corn of 5.7 tonnes per hectare.

 

• Harvesting corn

Harvesting seasons of corn vary by region and climate. Corn is ready to be harvested when the silks at the top of the cobs have turned dark brown, typically about six weeks after first appearing.

To be harvested, the moisture level of corn must not exceed the required level.

The corn is harvested using a combine harvesting machine, also called a combine, which combines harvesting operations such as cutting (reaping), threshing, and gathering the grain.

 

Trading corn as a commodity

To trade corn as a commodity, you will need a trusted, regulated, and registered commodity broker who will provide the necessary services, guidance, and trading platform. The commodity broker will also help you to determine your risk appetite.

Furthermore, such a broker will provide you with information about trading instruments like corn futures, corn options on futures, corn exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and corn contracts for difference (CFDs), as well as the pros, cons, and risks involved when trading with these instruments.

According to Commodities for Dummies, ‘the most important types of corn you should be familiar with are high-grade number 2 and number 3 yellow corn, which are both traded in the futures market.’

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) provides a futures contract on corn, allowing farmers, investors, and traders to trade corn as a commodity. The corn futures contract offered by the CME has, amongst others, the following specifications:

• Contract size: 5 000 Bushels
• Underlying commodity: High-grade #2 or #3 Yellow corn
• Price fluctuation: $0.0025/bushel ($12.50 per contract)
• Trading months: March, May, July, September, and December

 

 

Factors driving the price of corn as a commodity

The price of corn is quoted in USA dollars and cents per bushel (BU), which is a unit of volume that is applied in the measuring of agricultural products like corn.

As of end of August 2025, the price of corn ‘increased 87.13 USD/BU or 14.69% since the beginning of 2025, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark for this commodity,’ as reported by Trading Economics.

Corn traded at 680.64USD/BU at the end of August 2025.

In a free-market economy and similar to other agricultural commodities, the price of corn is determined by supply and demand.

The following are examples of factors that can influence (negatively or positively) the price of corn:

• Production costs can include various expenses, such as fertiliser, diesel, labour, and repairs and maintenance of machinery, to name a few.
• Weather conditions such as drought and hail, especially in major producing countries like the USA, Brazil, and Argentina.
• The war in Ukraine, which is the sixth largest global producer of corn.
• Ethanol production in which corn plays a major role. An increase or decrease in the demand for ethanol could have a significant impact on corn price.
• Value of the US dollar

Being the global reserve currency, the US dollar can often determine the direction of the price of a commodity. When the dollar’s value decreases against other currencies, it requires more dollars to buy corn than it does when the price of the dollar is high.

 

The uses of corn

Corn has thousands of uses in food, cookery, and in various industries.

The following lists, comprising a small number of the numerous uses of corn, are indications of the versatility of corn:

Food uses and products

• Livestock feed

Corn accounts for more than 50 percent of livestock feed production.

• Corn starch

Corn starch is produced from corn and is used as a thickening agent in foods. Corn starch is also used in the making of corn syrup which is used to sweeten various products such as candies, soft drinks, and ketchup (commonly referred to as tomato sauce in certain countries).

• Other food products

The following food products are examples of the usability of corn in the manufacture of a variety of food products: baby food, breakfast cereals, chewing gum, ice cream, instant coffee and tea, margarine, marshmallows, mayonnaise, peanut butter, potato chips, salad dressing, soft drinks, some whiskeys and spirits, soups, spices, yeast.

 

Industrial uses and products

• Ethanol production

Corn is a key component in the production of ethanol, which is added to gasoline (petrol), enabling the gasoline to burn more cleanly to reduce air pollution.

• Corn starch

Corn starch is used in the manufacture of adhesives and sizes for paper and textiles as well as a chemical additive in certain medical products.

• Numerous industrial products

Numerous industrial products are made in which corn plays a role. The following list is only a small selection of the multiple industrial uses of corn: antibiotics, baby food, batteries, carpets, cosmetics, crayons, detergent, disposable diapers, electroplating, fibreglass, fireworks, glue, insecticides, matches, paint, shoe polish, surgical dressings, wallpaper.

 

Seven interesting facts about corn

1. A corn cob always contains an even number of rows of kernels.
2. Approximately 414 litres (91 gallons) of water are needed to produce a half kilogram (one pound) of corn.
3. There are 125 calories in a cup of corn.
4. The word maize derives from a Taino word that means ‘sacred mother’ or ‘giver of life.’ The Taino were an Indigenous people of the Caribbean Islands.
5. In the 1800s, when coffee was really expensive and scarce, some shrewd Americans used parched corn as a substitute for coffee, while the ashes of burnt corn cobs were used as baking soda.
6. Corn is measured in bushels (BU). One bushel of corn is about 35.24 litres.
7. Corn comes in all kinds of colours: yellow, white, green, blue-grey, black, red, and purple.

 

Note: This article does not constitute investment, financial, or trading advice. Please obtain the advice of a professional and regulated commodity broker before making trading and investment decisions.