Trends in Global Sorghum Production: Perspectives and Limitations

Sorghum acts as a staple food for millions of people living in about 30 countries in the subtropical and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia. Though sorghum cultivation is reported from more than 110 countries (FAOSTAT, https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home , 2023), only ten countries have more than one million ha area under sorghum, which together contribute to more than 68% of the world’s total sorghum production. The global sorghum cropped area has declined marginally (39.9 m ha) during the last decade from 41.79 million ha in 2011–2013. However, global production was more stable during the past one-decade period. This might have been possible because of enhancement in sorghum productivity across different regions. Africa region is the largest producer of sorghum (46% of global sorghum) followed by Americas region (35%). Out of the global production, about 47.5% is used for food, while another 34.7% is used for feed. The non-food, seed, and processing use together consume about 10.5% of the total production. World trade in sorghum is strongly linked to demand for livestock products, which is dominated by feed requirements and prices etc. Although most of the sorghum continues to be consumed in the countries where it is produced, despite several opportunities for expansion of sorghum globally, there are an equal number of challenges threatening it.