The University of Illinois Farm Policy News website says the price of corn recently hit a three-year low mark. Supplies from Brazil and the U.S. surged while demand stagnated because of the high prices.
Corn has traded around $4.50 a bushel recently after reaching more than $8 a bushel in May 2022. The drop in corn prices was coming after American farmers planted more corn last year in response to the higher prices.
The Financial Times says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent prices sharply higher last year, as did drought in parts of South America. However, in response to the rising prices, corn demand fell for the first time in ten years, contracting roughly three percent between 2022 and 2023.
The extra corn acres in the U.S. didn’t help. A government forecast showed an additional six million acres got planted in the Corn Belt, and yields were higher than anticipated.