The historic “maiz” plant discovered by Christopher Columbus in Central America has travelled extensively since then, adapting to all climates and latitudes.  It is now grown on all five continents, with thousands of varieties, thriving equally in Europe and in wet areas of South-East Asia.  Everywhere around the world, livestock farmers prefer maize feed.  Maize has also become increasing popularity for human consumption and in certain countries maize is part of the staple diet.  Emerging countries too have seen maize farming expand.
 
Quite often, only a small proportion of the maize produced is exported as it is grown to meet substantial domestic demand.  Four main “blocks” are engaged in tough competition on the maize export market:  Europe, the Cairns group (Australia, New Zealand and Argentina), Third World countries and, of course, the leader, the United States of America.

American supremacy in maize (or “corn” as the Americans say) is built on past history:  maize farming is a long-standing crop in the US, the country which pioneered hybridisation and innovative farming techniques. The Great Lakes region in the south, the famous “corn belt” with its “corn farmers”, is the finest example of this.
 
Today the USA alone produces 40% of the world’s maize.  Americans are huge maize consumers, with 80% of their crop going to the domestic market.  After all, popcorn is a national icon!  The USA is also the world’s leading exporter and is a powerful, well-organised player, with most American producers being members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).  Any competition from players in other countries has been disorganised and often weak and ineffective.  Other major exporting countries today, e.g. China and Argentina, are isolated cases, while European exports are, for the moment, only conducted within the European Union.

Against this background France, and France alone, stands as a force confronting the American giant.  The traditional cradle of maize in Europe is the Pyrenees, France’s “mini-corn belt”.  The first International Maize Congress was held in Pau as early as 1930, and French maize growers organised their first professional associations a long time ago.  The General Association of Maize Growers (AGPM) is the largest and was founded in Orthez in 1934!  French maize farmers were reluctant to start growing hybrids, despite their better performance, but hybrids did finally prevail, as was only logical, in the 1950s.
 
Every year now, France exports half of the maize grown in the country, mainly to other EU-member States.  It has even reached second position for world sales of seed maize, which is quite an achievement given that seed is the most crucial element.  But with French regulations on GMOs, the country is now lagging behind.

Maize is the most widely grown crop in the world and the leading grain. It accounts for 41% of grain produced in the world (wheat is 40% and barley, 9%).  Total acreage around the world (on figures averaged over 2000 to 2003) is 140 million hectares, and the volume produced is 600 million tonnes (compared to wheat with 570 million tonnes and 210 million hectares).  Over a period of thirty years, maize production increased by 100%.  The yield in France and the US is approximately 80 to 90 hundredweight per hectare, while the world average is only 40 CWT/ha.  Around ten countries produce almost all the maize in the world, with the largest volumes in the USA and China (respectively 41% and 19% of world figures).  France accounts for 3% of maize produced in the world.  Maize has great genetic potential which constantly offers new prospects, making it a plant of the future, for continuing or indeed accelerating development.

The maize plant comes from a modest background, compared to the more distinguished past of wheat which is used for bread, but maize was able to expand extensively around the world in the course of the 20^th century.  The GMO revolution should see this growth extend further in the 21^st century.  Over recent years there have been ups and downs in maize production depending on the climate, ranging from 590 to 610 million  tonnes and acreage has levelled off at approximately 140 million hectares.  The reasons for the maize boom are improved productivity (accounting for 2/3 of the rise) and increased acreage (a further 1/3).  Maize is farmed on all the continents, at different altitudes, although given the conditions required, it is not found in as large an area as wheat, and most maize farming is in the northern hemisphere.
 

The average maize yield around the world is 43 hundredweight per hectare, and there has been a steady improvement in this, which is not the case for wheat.  In the USA and Western Europe, with optimal weather conditions and modern farming techniques, the yield can reach 90 hundredweight per hectare, or even more in outstanding years, but there are substantial fluctuations because of weather (e.g. only 70 CWT/ha in France in 2003-2004 with the Summer drought).  France has an average of 88 CWT/ha (FAO figures for 2000-2002) and is ranked fourth in the world for yield, after Italy (96 CWT/ha), Spain (95 CWT/ha) and Greece (94 CWT/ha);  it is ahead of the USA (85 CWT/ha), Egypt (78 CWT/ha) and Canada (69 CWT/ha).  Countries at the bottom of the scale include Honduras (14 CWT/ha), Kenya (16 CWT/ha), India (19 CWT/ha) and Mexico (25 CWT/ha).  The USA alone produces more than 40% of the world’s maize:  220 million tonnes from 30 million hectares;  next come Brazil and the European Union, with 40 million tonnes each.

The demand for maize is steadily increasing around the world.  Maize is a raw material which is greatly valued as animal feed.  70% of maize consumed around the world (600-640 million tonnes) is for animal consumption (420-440 million tonnes).  Maize is used in a large number of industrial applications;  it is an ingredient in more than 400 products, mostly manufactured in starch plants, corn mills and distilleries.  One-quarter of non-food products sold in supermarkets contain maize.
Not only has maize consumption been increasing, but over recent years demand has outstripped supply, which means that the main consumer countries have had to draw on their stocks.  Since 2000, there has been a steady decrease in world stocks.  These have now fallen below the critical level of 100 million tonnes.  China holds 45% of world stocks and the USA has 32%.
The main maize-consuming countries are the USA (1/3 of world consumption, with more than 200 million tonnes) and China (20% of world consumption, c. 125 million tonnes), followed by Brazil (4%), Mexico (4%) and Japan (3%).

   -          Exports: 
 
Of the 75 million tonnes of maize traded in the world every year, 60% is from the US (46 million tonnes).  Next comes Argentina, exporting 11 million tonnes, then China (10 million tonnes) and Brazil (4 million tonnes).
 
-          Imports:
 
The leading maize importer is Japan (22% of world imports, with 17 million tonnes), followed by South Korea (12%, 9 million tonnes) and Taiwan (6%, 5 million tonnes).  Overall, Asia imports 35 million tonnes, the American continent 18 million tonnes, and Africa 11 million tonnes.