Photo credit: U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council.
A 19-member delegation of South Korean feed and food corn buyers visited the United States last week to strengthen business relationships with U.S. corn and corn co-product suppliers and learn more about grain quality, production and export systems.
The visit was led by Haksoo Kim, U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) director in South Korea, and included stops in Nebraska, Kansas and Washington.
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 in 2026. Despite the strong market share, Korean buyers remain sensitive to price competitiveness and 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,” Kim said.
The delegation began its visit in Nebraska, where Nebraska Corn Board Director of Market Development Payton Schaneman welcomed the group and provided an overview of the state’s agricultural production.
The team toured Chief Ethanol and CPI Hastings Elevator to observe distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) production and learn how U.S. corn moves through the supply chain. Participants also visited a local farm to examine the current corn crop and attended a dinner meeting with USGBC Chairman Jay Reiners.
The following day, the delegation visited Reinke Irrigation and Sullivans Farm to learn about Nebraska’s irrigation systems, technological advancements and precision agriculture practices.
Nebraska Corn Vice President of Market Development and Grower Services Connie Fischer joined the group for a short course in Kansas led by Darrell Holaday of Country Futures. The course covered changing corn market trends, grain hedging strategies and the general market outlook.
The delegation also visited Nunemaker Farm to assess local corn crop conditions and learn about corn use in livestock production.
At DeLong’s container transloading facility in Edgerton, Kansas, participants examined grain quality control, handling and transportation systems for containerized exports.
The team later visited Blue Water Shipping and the EGT export terminal in Longview, Washington, to discuss recent grain shipment trends at Pacific Northwest ports, export corn quality control and the status of U.S. 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.
USGBC plans to continue supporting Korean buyers through trade teams and collaboration with logistics stakeholders in South Korea to facilitate additional feed grain trade.
Source: U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council, "South Korean Corn Buyers Visit Key Export Cogs In Nebraska, Kansas And Washington"