Is it okay to grow sorghum in 2022? (Forecast of sorghum prices in 2022)

Sorghum is not only an important food crop in my country, but also an important raw material for my country's traditional brewing industry, feed processing industry, renewable energy industry and health food industry.

Sorghum planting prospects for 2022

It is okay to plant sorghum in 2022. Compared with rice, corn and soybeans, sorghum is a low-yield crop. Unlike rice, corn and soybeans, sorghum is not purchased by the state.

For example, there is no need to worry about the lack of market for staple food such as corn after it is grown, as the state will purchase it at a guaranteed price. So how will the factors affecting the market price of sorghum change in 2022?

Sorghum planting area

In recent years, with the growing demand for sorghum from domestic consumers, the sorghum planting area has continued to expand, from 470,000 hectares in 2016 to 618,800 hectares in 2018. In 2021, affected by the high price of sorghum, the sorghum planting area is expected to reach 840,000 hectares .

It is understood that the income from sorghum planting in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia and Jianping, Liaoning is lower than that from corn and millet. It is estimated that the theoretical planting income of red sorghum in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia is 610 yuan per mu, a decrease of 36.32% from the same period last year. Affected by this, the sorghum planting area in 2022 will be lower than that in 2021 .

However, the glutinous sorghum raw grain planting yields good returns in 2021/22, and Liaoning and Chifeng, Inner Mongolia may increase the planting area of ​​glutinous sorghum. It is estimated that the sorghum planting area in 2022 may decrease by 4.76% year-on-year to 800,000 hectares.

Sorghum production

In 2018, my country's sorghum production reached 2.9094 million tons, an increase of 18.03% from 2.4649 million tons in 2017. China Business Industry Research Institute predicts that the total sorghum production will reach 4.08 million tons in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 17%.

On the one hand, the continued dry weather during the growing season led to a decrease in yields, an increase in sorghum prices, and an increase in farmers' planting income. During the spring sowing period of 2021, farmers were more motivated to prepare and plant, replacing the planting area of ​​mung beans, millet, etc.

On the other hand, in 2021, rainfall was normal during the sorghum sowing and emergence in the main producing areas of Northeast and North China, and the soil moisture conditions were good, with an emergence rate of over 90%.

Due to abundant rainfall during the growing season, the yield of red sorghum in Baicheng, Jilin and Xing'an League in Inner Mongolia increased, and large-scale planting of glutinous sorghum bases increased production. The national average yield reached 808 jin per mu, a year-on-year increase of 33.11%.

Sorghum downstream application market

Domestic sorghum downstream is mainly divided into seed and food, brewing industry and feed industry. Among them, the feed field accounts for the largest share, accounting for 75.5%; followed by food consumption, accounting for 12.6%; brewing sorghum accounts for only 10.8%.

In recent years, the research on deep processing of sorghum has developed rapidly at home and abroad. In addition to the traditional uses of sorghum as staple food, brewing liquor, beer, and as feed, various processing uses of sorghum are also being explored.

For example, sweet sorghum stalks are used to make wine, forage sorghum is used as silage and green feed, sorghum is used to produce alcohol, sorghum husks are used to extract pigments, sorghum grains are used to extract starch, sorghum bread and sorghum desserts are produced, and the prospects for deep processing of sorghum are good.