South Korean Corn Buyers Visit Key Export Cogs In Nebraska, Kansas And Washington

Last week, U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) Director in South Korea Haksoo Kim escorted a 19-member feed and food corn buyer team that visited the U.S. to build closer business relationships with U.S. corn and corn co-product suppliers by showing participants the superior quality of U.S. corn and its transparent export system.

"U.S. corn accounted for more than two-thirds of South Korea's corn imports in 2025 and has captured more than 80% of the market so far this year. Despite the strong market share, Korean buyers remain highly sensitive not only to price competitiveness but also to quality, particularly broken corn and foreign material (BCFM) and moisture content," Kim said.

"Exposing customers to the excellent quality and supply of the 2026/27 U.S. corn crop reinforced their trust in the U.S.' transparent and efficient grain export network and encouraged continued purchases year over year."

The team landed in Nebraska and met with Nebraska Corn Board Director of Market Development Payton Schaneman for a welcome to the state and an overview of its agricultural output.

Later that day, the group toured Chief Ethanol and CPI Hastings Elevator to observe distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) production and how U.S. corn is transported through the value chain. A visit to a local farm then gave participants a firsthand look at the current corn crop and the day culminated in a dinner meeting with USGBC Chairman Jay Reiners.

The following day, the participants visited Reinke Irrigation and Sullivans Farm to discuss Nebraska's irrigation systems, technological advancements and precision agriculture.

Nebraska Corn Vice President of Market Development & Grower Services Connie Fischer joined the team as they attended a short course in Kansas, led by Darrell Holaday of Country Futures, about changing corn market trends, grain hedging strategies and general market outlook. The group then visited Nunemaker Farm to assess local corn crop conditions and learn how corn is used in livestock production.

A tour of DeLong's container transloading facility in Edgerton offered an examination of grain quality control, handling and transportation systems for containerized exports.

The team also visited Blue Water Shipping and the EGT export terminal in Longview, Wash., to discuss recent grain shipment trends at Pacific Northwest ports, quality control for export corn and the status of corn exports.

"In addition to these meetings and tours about the quality and attributes of U.S. corn, continued port-of-arrival quality monitoring and supply chain quality assurance remain essential to defending and growing U.S. corn's position in the Korean market," Kim said.

"The Council will continue working as a resource for Korean buyers via trade teams and interfacing with logistics stakeholders in South Korea to facilitate further mutually beneficial feed grain trade."

Learn more about the Council's work in South Korea on the organization's website.