"It's simple. The sale of $22 million worth of U.S. sorghum to Mexico in three months would not have happened without the investments of Council members," according to Chris Corry, U.S. Grains Council senior director of international operations for Rest of the World. The Council is trying to revive a once robust sorghum market in Mexico.

"The U.S. Grains Council has played an important role in supporting us from the beginning. You all have provided the connections to grain farmers, agribusiness representatives and the field specialists needed to improve our operations. This information and assistance is not always available," said Arturo Basulto, purchasing manager for feed grains and oilseeds at Inter Industrias del Sureste, S.A. in Yucatan, Mexico.

In 2008, Yucatan imported 335,000 metric tons of U.S. corn and sorghum. So far in 2009, it has imported 237,900 metric tons of corn and sorghum and Basulto anticipates 210,000 metric tons to be imported in the second part of the year.