The U.S. Grains Council says trade teams from South Korea visiting the U.S. over the last three months helps solidify trade between the U.S. and Korea under the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, known as KORUS. The Council has been hosting trade teams this summer from South Korea, visiting U.S. farmers and grain suppliers in eight states. USGC says South Korean grain buyers, end-users, and government officials “value the marketing information and discussions on quality that the Council helps to provide and facilitate.” South Korea is the third largest importer of U.S. corn and U.S. dried distillers grains thus far in the 2016-2017 marketing year, and South Korea has purchased 42 million gallons of U.S. ethanol this marketing year. KORUS provides duty-free access for U.S. corn, sorghum, DDGS and ethanol exports. The agreement, which went into effect in 2012, also included a 2,500-ton duty-free quota for U.S. barley.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.