Maize Starch Consumption by Country

The United States holds 483,255 tonnes of listed maize starch supply in 2023 — 38.6 percent of a 1,251,464-tonne total, only 1.07 times South Korea at 453,443 tonnes. South Korea added 52,785 tonnes in the latest year and 52,618 over five, carrying the annual gain and offsetting part of the five-year fall. The latest year rose 4.2 percent while five years netted down 4.5 percent. South Korea tops per person at 24.01 grams a day.

The United States sits top at 483,255 tonnes, ahead of South Korea at 453,443 and Mexico at 103,129, with the Philippines fourth at 62,521 and Israel fifth at 41,038. Per person South Korea doubles the field at 24.01 grams a day, ahead of Israel at 12.15 and Panama at 5.61. The United States, first by total, records 3.85 grams per person.

Reading This Two-Leader Table

• The United States reported the largest 2023 supply at 483,255 tonnes.
• South Korea ranked second at 453,443 tonnes, followed by Mexico at 103,129.
• South Korea recorded the highest per-person figure at 24.01 grams a day.
• The listed total was 1,251,464 tonnes across 22 reporters with values.
• Across 20 reporters present in both 2019 and 2023, supply fell 58,856 tonnes, or 4.5 percent.

A Six-Percent Gap at the Top

Only 22 reporters carry a listed 2023 value for maize starch, and the top two differ by about 6 percent. The United States and South Korea together hold 74.9 percent of the listed total.

South Korea added in both windows while the United States held almost flat in the latest year and fell over five. The Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Nepal fell sharply in one or both windows, while Algeria rebounded to its 2019 level, Iran rose to about four times its 2019 supply and Libya nearly doubled.

Maize Starch Consumption

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#	Country	2023 (tonnes)2023	2023 (grams per person per day)2023
1	United States US	483.26K	3.85
2	South Korea KR	453.44K	24.01
3	Mexico MX	103.13K	2.18
4	Philippines PH	62.52K	1.49
5	Israel IL	41.04K	12.15
6	Syria SY	30.47K	3.54
7	Algeria DZ	16.98K	1.01
8	Egypt EG	12.61K	0.3
9	China CN	10.8K	0.02
10	Panama PA	9.13K	5.61
11	Hong Kong HK	8.22K	3.02
12	Iran IR	6.16K	0.19
13	Libya LY	5.34K	2
14	Jordan JO	2.84K	0.68
15	Saudi Arabia SA	2.7K	0.22
16	Moldova MD	1.7K	1.82
17	Cambodia KH	653	0.1
18	Macau MO	260.44	1
19	Barbados BB	90.78	0.88
20	Fiji FJ	89.95	0.27
21	Antigua and Barbuda AG	31.99	0.94
22	Nepal NP	0	0

The United States at 38.6 Percent, 7 Percent Clear

The 2023 table opens with the United States at 483,255 tonnes, South Korea second at 453,443 and Mexico third at 103,129. The Philippines and Israel follow at 62,521 and 41,038 tonnes.

The top three reporters hold 83.1 percent of the listed total, the top five 91.4 percent and the top ten 97.8 percent. The gap between first and second is 29,812 tonnes, about 6 percent of either leader. Per person, South Korea's 24.01 grams a day tops Israel at 12.15 grams.

Up 4.2 Percent in 2023 on South Korea's Gain

Across the 22 reporters with values in both 2022 and 2023, listed supply moved from 1,201,496 tonnes to 1,251,464 tonnes, up 49,968 tonnes or 4.2 percent. The two years share the same 22 reporters, with none entering or leaving. South Korea added 52,785 tonnes (up 13.2 percent), Algeria 16,065 tonnes from 913 tonnes, Iran 5,428 tonnes from 732 tonnes, Libya 2,644 tonnes (up 98.1 percent) and Mexico 2,624 tonnes (up 2.6 percent).

On the declining side, the Philippines fell 24,361 tonnes (down 28.0 percent), Saudi Arabia fell 5,592 tonnes (down 67.5 percent) and Syria fell 4,444 tonnes (down 12.7 percent). South Korea's gain of 52,785 tonnes exceeds the net increase of 49,968; the other 21 reporters net to a fall of 2,817 tonnes, led by the Philippines (down 24,361), which Algeria's rebound (up 16,065) only partly offset.

Five Years Down 4.5 Percent Against Korea's Rise

For the 20 reporters with values in both 2019 and 2023, listed supply fell from 1,298,346 tonnes to 1,239,490 tonnes, down 58,856 tonnes or 4.5 percent. The 2019 universe holds 20 reporters with values against 22 in 2023; none left, while Jordan and Panama entered with a combined 11,974 tonnes. South Korea added 52,618 tonnes (up 13.1 percent), Iran 4,703 tonnes from 1,457 tonnes and Israel 4,051 tonnes (up 11.0 percent).

The United States fell 43,477 tonnes (down 8.3 percent), the Philippines fell 33,123 tonnes (down 34.6 percent), Saudi Arabia fell 26,929 tonnes (down 90.9 percent), Nepal fell 19,730 tonnes (down 100.0 percent) and Mexico fell 3,001 tonnes (down 2.8 percent).

Nepal's fall from 19,730 tonnes to a reported zero removed its entire 2019 supply; it had already reached zero in 2020. Panama entered at 9,133 tonnes with no 2019 value, taking tenth place.

The gap between the two leaders narrowed in steps. The United States peaked at 561,131 tonnes in 2021, then fell 14.1 percent to 482,274 in 2022, while South Korea stayed near 391,000-401,000 tonnes until it jumped to 453,443 in 2023. The lead shrank from 169,432 tonnes in 2021 to 29,812 in 2023. The Philippines followed a hump, from 95,644 tonnes in 2019 to 122,204 in 2021 and 62,521 in 2023, and Algeria swung between 913 and 26,074 tonnes before returning to its 2019 level. The FAO data do not explain these shifts.

What Counts as Maize Starch Supply?

Counted here is the FAO item Starch of maize rather than the wider maize category. Other maize products sit outside this figure.

The per-capita value expresses the reported food supply in population terms, showing how much was available per person per day. South Korea records the highest value at 24.01 grams.

Only 22 countries and territories appear under this item, so the table is not a ranking of all countries. Countries such as Japan, Brazil and Canada are not in this dataset.

Maize Starch Consumption by Country

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#	Country	2019 (t)	2019 (g/cap/d)	2020 (t)	2020 (g/cap/d)	2021 (t)	2021 (g/cap/d)	2022 (t)	2022 (g/cap/d)	2023 (t)	2023 (g/cap/d)
1	United States	526.73K	4.27	534K	4.31	561.13K	4.52	482.27K	3.87	483.26K	3.85
2	South Korea	400.83K	21.21	391K	20.66	391.7K	20.7	400.66K	21.2	453.44K	24.01
3	Mexico	106.13K	2.31	104.88K	2.27	88.39K	1.9	100.51K	2.14	103.13K	2.18
4	Philippines	95.64K	2.36	109.6K	2.68	122.2K	2.96	86.88K	2.09	62.52K	1.49
5	Israel	36.99K	11.7	45.54K	14.18	48.55K	14.87	41.12K	12.38	41.04K	12.15
6	Syria	31.83K	4.28	27.76K	3.61	32.01K	4.05	34.91K	4.26	30.47K	3.54
7	Algeria	16.07K	1.02	26.07K	1.62	8.51K	0.52	912.98	0.06	16.98K	1.01
8	Egypt	9.91K	0.25	10.26K	0.26	11.01K	0.27	11.51K	0.28	12.61K	0.3
9	China	8.81K	0.02	8.23K	0.02	9.74K	0.02	9.06K	0.02	10.8K	0.02
10	Panama	-	-	7.03K	4.49	7.73K	4.88	8.15K	5.07	9.13K	5.61
11	Hong Kong	9.4K	3.44	7.76K	2.84	9.19K	3.36	8.76K	3.21	8.22K	3.02
12	Iran	1.46K	0.05	1.57K	0.05	1.5K	0.05	731.73	0.02	6.16K	0.19
13	Libya	2.91K	1.15	3.08K	1.2	5.79K	2.22	2.7K	1.02	5.34K	2
14	Jordan	-	-	-	-	-	-	2.5K	0.61	2.84K	0.68
15	Saudi Arabia	29.63K	2.66	16.3K	1.44	829.12	0.07	8.29K	0.71	2.7K	0.22
16	Moldova	1.9K	1.99	1.91K	2.04	1.93K	2.09	1.23K	1.33	1.7K	1.82
17	Cambodia	84.38	0.01	71.62	0.01	164.53	0.03	962.18	0.15	653	0.1
18	Macau	166.45	0.68	180.29	0.72	201.07	0.79	181.07	0.7	260.44	1
19	Barbados	49.74	0.48	70.03	0.68	62.26	0.6	71.02	0.69	90.78	0.88
20	Fiji	66.02	0.2	64.75	0.19	97.39	0.29	81.18	0.24	89.95	0.27
21	Antigua and Barbuda	15.65	0.47	0.1	0	14.92	0.44	16.23	0.48	31.99	0.94
22	Nepal	19.73K	1.9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Maize Starch Consumption by Country: Quick Answer

The United States recorded the largest 2023 listed maize starch supply at 483,255 tonnes — 38.6 percent of a 1,251,464-tonne listed total across 22 reporters. South Korea followed at 453,443 and Mexico at 103,129 tonnes. South Korea had the highest per-capita figure at 24.01 grams per person per day. The ranking covers only the 22 reporters in this dataset. These figures measure food available for human consumption, not the amount actually eaten.

Methodology

Year-to-year comparisons use reporters present in both endpoint years, with the earlier year as the percentage base. Totals are FAO Supply Utilization Accounts food supply quantity (element 5141, tonnes); per-capita figures are element 665 in grams per capita per day — both for starch of maize, 2019 through 2023. The elements count supply made available for human consumption over the reference period. A displayed zero means zero and a blank cell means no value was reported, and no percentage is shown where the base-year value is zero.

This item covers 22 reporters in total, reporters only: World, regional and China (aggregate) rows are left out entirely, so China here means the China reporter. The 1,251,464-tonne listed total adds the 22 reporters with a 2023 value, in tonnes exactly as FAO reports them, without extra rounding. Source: FAO, FAOSTAT Supply Utilization Accounts, Starch of maize, food supply quantity (tonnes; g/capita/day), 2019-2023. Compiled by StatsGeo.