Corn or “maize” at it is known throughout much of the world, is a cereal crop, a member of the grass family. Corn is grown around the world and is one of the globe's most widely used food staples; corn varieties are directly used for food and animal feed or processed to make food and feed ingredients (such as high fructose corn syrup, corn starch and lysine) or industrial products such as ethanol and polylactic acid (PLA).

The two primary methods of processing corn are referred to as "dry" and "wet" milling. The major corn producing countries include USA, China, Brazil, Mexico and the 25 countries that make up the European Union.

In 2005, the U.S. produced 42 percent of the world’s corn. Over 50 percent of the U.S. crop is produced in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska or Illinois. Other states in which corn is grown include Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Missouri.  In 2005, over 58 percent of the U.S. corn crop was used for feed.

The remaining U.S. crop was split between exports (25 percent) and food, seed or industrial uses such as ethanol production (17 percent).

Worldwide production of maize is 785 million tons, with the largest producer, the United States, producing 42%. Africa produces 6.5% and the largest African producer is Nigeria with nearly 8 million tons, followed by South Africa. Africa imports 28% of the required maize from countries outside the continent.

According to 2007 FAO estimates, 158 million hectares of maize are harvested worldwide. Africa harvests 29 million hectares, with Nigeria, the largest producer in SSA, harvesting 3%, followed by Tanzania.

Worldwide consumption of maize is more than 116 million tons, with Africa consuming 30% and SSA 21%. However, Lesotho has the largest consumption per capita with 174 kg per year. Eastern and Southern Africa uses 85% of its production as food, while Africa as a whole uses 95%, compared to other world regions that use most of its maize as animal feed.

Although the United States dominates world corn trade, exports account for a relatively small portion of demand for U.S. corn--about 15 percent. This low demand for exports means that corn prices are largely determined by supply-and-demand relationships in the U.S. market, and the rest of the world must adjust to prevailing U.S. prices. The high influence of U.S. corn supply makes world corn trade and prices dependent on weather in the U.S. Corn Belt.