DDGS exports reached second-highest ever during 2016 at 11.48 million tons

In Washington, U.S. exports of distillers grains totaled 11.48 million metric tons (mmt) in 2016, down 10 percent from 2015’s record-high but still the second-highest on record, according to a 10-page summary of 2016 ethanol co-product trade data published by the Renewable Fuels Association. DDGS exports were shipped to 50 countries on five continents last year.

According to the report, an estimated 31 percent of U.S. DDGS production was exported in 2016, meaning one out of every three tons produced was shipped to foreign markets. China was the leading destination for U.S. distillers grains, followed by Mexico, Vietnam and South Korea. However, U.S. DDGS exports to China plunged 63 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, as the country implemented anti-dumping and countervailing duties against U.S. product. Meanwhile, shipments to nine of the other top-10 markets experienced growth in 2016. In fact, DDGS exports to Mexico, Vietnam, South Korea, Turkey and Thailand grew by a combined 2.06 mmt in 2016, equivalent to the annual DDGS production of 10 average-sized ethanol plants.