20 Biggest Grain Exporting Countries in the World

Faheem Tahir
15 min read

In This Article:

In this piece, we are going to look at the 20 biggest grain exporting countries in the world. If you wish to skip our discussion on the global grain industry, you can go directly to 5 Biggest Grain Exporting Countries in the World.

The world’s population is growing at a rapid pace, as the global population saw an uptick of 75 million in 2023, according to U.S. government, and furthermore, it is projected to climb from roughly 8 billion in 2024 to 10 billion by 2050, according to United Nations! Read more in 20 Most Important Companies in the World.

As such, agriculture plays one important role in feeding such fast-growing population of the world. Grains, which are essential output of agriculture sector, play a role of staples in various consumers’ diets; thus, grains like wheat, corn, rice, barley, and oats are grains that are most consumed by people for their calorie needs.

For example, wheat’s significance on the global scale is quite high, with an average annual per capita consumption of 65.6 kg, with it exceeding per capita consumption of 50 in more than 102 countries of the world, according to Insider Monkey article. The global agriculture sector is marked by varying factors like crop yields, import/export policies and climatic conditions. In addition to consumers’ needs, grains also cater to livestock needs, which raises the role of grains in day-to-day life of the world.

Thus, the market of grain products is expected to see a robust growth in the coming years; in 2024, it is expected to hit $393.84 billion, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% from $368.71 in 2023. Moreover, this growth is expected to continue in the following years as well, where it’s expected of the industry to grow 6.3%, reaching whopping $503.37 billion mark by 2028, according to The Business Research Company! This growth is not only attributed to the growing population, and hence rising demand, but also to the improvement in crop yields due to availability of super technology, helping farmers achieve sustainability in farming. To know about such technological advancements taking place, head over to the Insider Monkey article.

Under the broader category of grains, wheat is one that is most sought for, and is one that is extensively grown and is most demanded. Bread, pasta, or baked goods, almost everything that’s consumed for dietary purposes consists of wheat, signifying its importance in the global grain market, and hence, it sits at the 3rd place in context of top grains produced in the world, after rice and maize.

Taking its origins in ancient Mesopotamia’s temperate climate, wheat has come a long way to catering to human needs. "Wheat, everyone in the world eats it, but not everyone can grow it," says French economist Bruno Parmentier, author of "Feeding Humanity". In terms of wheat producing countries, China leads the chart, as, in the last two decades, it has produced more than 2.4 billion tons of wheat, which accounts for 17% of the global production, according to World Economic Forum!

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