Sorghum and Products Consumption by Country

FAO Food Balances data show that Nigeria accounted for the largest listed food supply of sorghum and products in 2023, at 5,662 thousand tonnes, followed by China at 4,545 thousand tonnes and India at 3,162 thousand tonnes. Burkina Faso had the highest per-capita food supply at 51.41 kilograms per person per year. The dataset covers 60 reporters and spans 2019 through 2023, although some reporters have missing values in individual years.

Nigeria had the highest listed sorghum and products food supply in 2023 at 5,662 thousand tonnes, while Burkina Faso had the highest per-capita food supply at 51.41 kilograms per person per year. Nigeria's listed food supply was 1.25 times China's (5,662 thousand tonnes against 4,545), and the top ten reporters hold 91.2 percent of the listed total.

Key Takeaways

In 2023, Nigeria had the largest listed supply of sorghum and products at 5,662 thousand tonnes, followed by China at 4,545 thousand tonnes. India ranked third with 3,162 thousand tonnes. On a per-capita basis, Burkina Faso recorded the highest food supply at 51.41 kilograms per person per year, followed by Niger at 48.13 kilograms.

Across the 59 reporters with data in both 2022 and 2023, listed sorghum and products supply decreased by 3,558 thousand tonnes, or 13.6 percent. China recorded the largest decline at 2,155 thousand tonnes. These figures represent food available for human consumption in the FAO Food Balances and should not be interpreted as the amount of sorghum actually eaten.

Sorghum and Products Consumption

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#	Country	2023 (thousand tonnes)2023	2023 (kg per person per year)2023
1	Nigeria NG	5.66K	24.84
2	China CN	4.55K	3.19
3	India IN	3.16K	2.2
4	Ethiopia ET	3K	23.31
5	Niger NE	1.26K	48.13
6	Burkina Faso BF	1.18K	51.41
7	Cameroon CM	908	32.01
8	Egypt EG	339	2.96
9	Tanzania TZ	297	4.45
10	Ghana GH	296	8.75
11	Senegal SN	238	13.18
12	United States US	200	0.58
13	Kenya KE	173	3.12
14	Yemen YE	172	4.37
15	Rwanda RW	170	12.16
16	Saudi Arabia SA	130	3.91
17	Mozambique MZ	117	3.49
18	Myanmar MM	101	1.86
19	Thailand TH	87	1.21
20	El Salvador SV	75	11.84
21	Mauritania MR	67	13.42
22	Ivory Coast CI	63	2.02
23	Uganda UG	55	1.14
24	Zimbabwe ZW	55	3.34
25	Malawi MW	52	2.48
26	Pakistan PK	38	0.15
27	Sierra Leone SL	35	4.17
28	South Africa ZA	35	0.56
29	Botswana BW	27	10.7
30	Guinea-Bissau GW	18	8.22
31	Madagascar MG	16	0.51
32	DR Congo CD	8	0.08
33	Guatemala GT	8	0.44
34	Guinea GN	8	0.54
35	Haiti HT	8	0.66
36	Honduras HN	6	0.54
37	Papua New Guinea PG	5	0.52
38	Gambia GM	4	1.48
39	Tunisia TN	4	0.29
40	Zambia ZM	4	0.17
41	Lesotho LS	3	1.41
42	Nicaragua NI	3	0.39
43	Belize BZ	2	3.65
44	Eswatini SZ	2	1.83
45	Namibia NA	2	0.77
46	Russia RU	2	0.02
47	Algeria DZ	1	0.02
48	Colombia CO	1	0.01
49	Djibouti DJ	1	0.82
50	Vietnam VN	1	0.01
51	Afghanistan AF	0	0
52	Australia AU	0	0.02
53	Bahrain BH	0	0.26
54	Micronesia FM	0	0.14
55	Morocco MA	0	0.01
56	Qatar QA	0	0.15
57	Seychelles SC	0	0.01
58	Sri Lanka LK	0	0.01
59	Ukraine UA	0	0

Sorghum and Products Consumption by Country in 2023

The 2023 distribution is highly concentrated. Nigeria alone accounted for 25.0 percent of the listed total, while the top three reporters together accounted for 59.0 percent. The top five reporters hold 77.8 percent and the top ten 91.2 percent of the 22,649-thousand-tonne total.

Only China, with 4,545 thousand tonnes, comes within 1,500 thousand tonnes of Nigeria. India follows at 3,162 thousand tonnes and Ethiopia at 3,000 thousand tonnes.

China Falls 2,155 Thousand Tonnes Between 2022 and 2023

Among the 59 reporters with data in both 2022 and 2023, the listed food supply decreased from 26,207 thousand tonnes to 22,649 thousand tonnes, a decline of 3,558 thousand tonnes (13.6 percent). The annual listed totals across all reporters were identical at 26,207 thousand tonnes in 2022 and 22,649 thousand tonnes in 2023, with no reporter entering or leaving the comparison. China fell 2,155 thousand tonnes (down 32.2 percent), accounting for 60.6 percent of the decline, followed by India with 525 thousand tonnes (down 14.2 percent), Egypt with 244 thousand tonnes (down 41.9 percent), Niger with 184 thousand tonnes (down 12.8 percent), Nigeria with 173 thousand tonnes (down 3.0 percent) and Burkina Faso with 155 thousand tonnes (down 11.6 percent). Senegal added 37 thousand tonnes (up 18.4 percent).

China's Sorghum Supply Rises Since 2019 but Falls Sharply in 2023

For the 57 reporters with data in both 2019 and 2023, the listed food supply increased from 21,060 thousand tonnes to 22,562 thousand tonnes, a gain of 1,502 thousand tonnes (7.1 percent). The 2019 total includes 58 reporters with reported values, while the 2023 total includes 59. Thailand had no 2019 value but recorded 87 thousand tonnes in 2023, while Turkmenistan had a zero value in 2019 and no 2023 value. The 2019-2023 comparison therefore uses the 57 reporters with values in both years. China added 1,919 thousand tonnes (up 73.1 percent), accounting for 127.8 percent of the increase, while Egypt fell 345 thousand tonnes (down 50.4 percent). Ethiopia fell 262 thousand tonnes (down 8.0 percent), while Cameroon added 260 thousand tonnes (up 40.1 percent), Niger fell 183 thousand tonnes (down 12.7 percent) and Kenya fell 93 thousand tonnes (down 35.0 percent).

Burkina Faso added 82 thousand tonnes (up 7.4 percent) and Nigeria 80 thousand tonnes (up 1.4 percent). China's changes stand out in both comparisons: its food supply rose by 1,919 thousand tonnes from 2019 to 2023, then fell by 2,155 thousand tonnes between 2022 and 2023. Burkina Faso recorded the highest per-capita food supply at 51.41 kilograms, followed by Niger at 48.13 and Cameroon at 32.01, while Nigeria recorded 24.84 kilograms.

What Does Sorghum and Products Consumption Measure?

For FAO Food Balances, the sorghum and products figure used here is the amount recorded under the Food element. It represents food available for human consumption during the reference year, rather than a direct estimate of how much sorghum people actually ate. The FAO item covers sorghum and products recorded under the "Sorghum and products" classification. It should not be read as a measure of sorghum grain alone, because the item also includes products represented within this FAO category.

The per-capita figure expresses the same food supply on a population basis, in kilograms per person per year. A country's total quantity and per-capita value therefore answer different questions: total quantity shows the size of the listed food supply, while the per-capita measure adjusts it for population.

Sorghum and Products Consumption by Country

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#	Country	2019 (1000 t)	2019 (kg/cap/yr)	2020 (1000 t)	2020 (kg/cap/yr)	2021 (1000 t)	2021 (kg/cap/yr)	2022 (1000 t)	2022 (kg/cap/yr)	2023 (1000 t)	2023 (kg/cap/yr)
1	Nigeria	5.58K	26.64	5.6K	26.18	5.73K	26.2	5.84K	26.15	5.66K	24.84
2	China	2.63K	1.84	4.51K	3.16	6.5K	4.56	6.7K	4.7	4.55K	3.19
3	India	3.19K	2.3	3.62K	2.58	3.64K	2.57	3.69K	2.59	3.16K	2.2
4	Ethiopia	3.26K	28.18	3.07K	25.81	2.85K	23.3	3K	23.93	3K	23.31
5	Niger	1.44K	62.83	1.48K	62.38	1.01K	41.04	1.44K	56.99	1.26K	48.13
6	Burkina Faso	1.1K	52.55	1.12K	52.14	1.34K	60.74	1.34K	59.47	1.18K	51.41
7	Cameroon	648	25.4	717	27.36	706	26.22	913	33.05	908	32.01
8	Egypt	684	6.36	363	3.32	305	2.75	583	5.17	339	2.96
9	Tanzania	318	5.37	414	6.79	418	6.65	323	4.99	297	4.45
10	Ghana	232	7.43	232	7.29	204	6.28	270	8.15	296	8.75
11	Senegal	164	10.05	199	11.85	185	10.75	201	11.39	238	13.18
12	United States	235	0.7	235	0.69	197	0.58	198	0.58	200	0.58
13	Kenya	266	5.19	105	2.01	94	1.76	172	3.17	173	3.12
14	Yemen	201	5.73	139	3.83	250	6.73	210	5.5	172	4.37
15	Rwanda	141	11.01	148	11.31	157	11.73	178	13.06	170	12.16
16	Saudi Arabia	116	3.81	110	3.56	112	3.57	121	3.76	130	3.91
17	Mozambique	133	4.46	120	3.88	123	3.88	138	4.24	117	3.49
18	Myanmar	107	2.04	110	2.07	93	1.74	99	1.84	101	1.86
19	Thailand	-	-	-	-	21	0.3	108	1.51	87	1.21
20	El Salvador	79	12.63	79	12.68	69	11.03	79	12.59	75	11.84
21	Mauritania	53	11.92	73	15.84	40	8.54	98	20.03	67	13.42
22	Ivory Coast	57	2.04	61	2.1	60	2.02	62	2.04	63	2.02
23	Uganda	0	0	27	0.62	87	1.88	66	1.4	55	1.14
24	Zimbabwe	48	3.13	65	4.18	73	4.64	55	3.44	55	3.34
25	Malawi	43	2.28	43	2.19	42	2.08	46	2.26	52	2.48
26	Pakistan	105	0.46	85	0.36	59	0.25	46	0.19	38	0.15
27	Sierra Leone	29	3.74	30	3.8	46	5.72	34	4.05	35	4.17
28	South Africa	52	0.87	77	1.27	45	0.73	34	0.54	35	0.56
29	Botswana	15	6.42	22	9.3	18	7.4	33	13.49	27	10.7
30	Guinea-Bissau	17	8.51	16	7.73	17	8.38	21	9.77	18	8.22
31	Madagascar	9	0.3	10	0.33	17	0.56	15	0.5	16	0.51
32	DR Congo	3	0.04	8	0.08	8	0.08	8	0.08	8	0.08
33	Guatemala	10	0.61	13	0.72	10	0.59	13	0.74	8	0.44
34	Guinea	7	0.57	8	0.56	8	0.56	8	0.55	8	0.54
35	Haiti	4	0.35	6	0.56	11	0.93	9	0.82	8	0.66
36	Honduras	9	0.91	8	0.83	7	0.68	6	0.6	6	0.54
37	Papua New Guinea	23	2.36	22	2.28	23	2.28	12	1.21	5	0.52
38	Gambia	5	1.98	5	1.94	4	1.48	4	1.52	4	1.48
39	Tunisia	7	0.61	6	0.48	4	0.36	4	0.32	4	0.29
40	Zambia	4	0.21	13	0.67	11	0.56	9	0.44	4	0.17
41	Lesotho	9	4.22	3	1.22	6	2.87	2	0.83	3	1.41
42	Nicaragua	6	0.9	6	0.94	6	0.88	6	0.96	3	0.39
43	Belize	1	3.83	1	3.81	1	3.32	1	3.65	2	3.65
44	Eswatini	3	2.59	3	2.82	3	2.46	2	1.83	2	1.83
45	Namibia	2	0.64	3	0.97	4	1.31	4	1.29	2	0.77
46	Russia	0	0	1	0	1	0.01	2	0.02	2	0.02
47	Algeria	1	0.02	0	0.01	1	0.01	1	0.03	1	0.02
48	Colombia	2	0.03	1	0.01	1	0.02	1	0.01	1	0.01
49	Djibouti	3	2.83	1	1.21	1	0.57	1	0.45	1	0.82
50	Vietnam	0	0	0	0	1	0.01	1	0.01	1	0.01
51	Afghanistan	-	-	0	0.01	20	0.49	0	0.01	0	0
52	Australia	5	0.21	1	0.06	2	0.09	6	0.23	0	0.02
53	Bahrain	0	0.31	0	0.29	0	0.33	0	0.29	0	0.26
54	Micronesia	0	0.15	0	0.14	0	0.14	0	0.14	0	0.14
55	Morocco	0	0.01	0	0.01	1	0.02	0	0.01	0	0.01
56	Qatar	1	0.22	1	0.2	1	0.2	0	0.06	0	0.15
57	Seychelles	0	0.01	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.01
58	Sri Lanka	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0.01	0	0	0	0.01
59	Ukraine	1	0.02	1	0.02	1	0.02	0	0	0	0
60	Turkmenistan	0	0	0	0	0	0.01	-	-	-	-

Quick Answer

In 2023, Nigeria led the listed food supply at 5,662 thousand tonnes, while Burkina Faso led on a per-capita basis at 51.41 kilograms per person per year. FAO Food Balances measure food available for human consumption, not the amount of sorghum actually eaten.

Methodology

Percentage changes use the corresponding value in the earlier year as the base. Yearly totals use FAO Food Balances food quantity (Element 5142, thousand tonnes), while the per-capita figures use food supply quantity (Element 645, kg/capita/year) for Sorghum and products from 2019 through 2023. The Food element represents the quantity available for human consumption during the reference period. It is not a direct measure of the quantity actually eaten, as additional losses or waste may occur after food reaches the consumer.

The reporter universe contains 60 reporters. The tables list reporters only; aggregate rows such as World, regions and China (aggregate) are excluded, while China figures refer to the China reporter. For year-to-year comparisons, only reporters with values in both endpoint years are included in the arithmetic. A zero indicates a displayed value of zero, while an empty cell indicates that no value is available for that reporter and year.

Quantities of 1,000 thousand tonnes and above are shown as whole numbers; smaller quantities retain up to two decimals. FAO Food Balances are compiled from national and other official sources. The FAO dataset reports the Food element in thousand tonnes and food supply quantity in kilograms per capita per year. The 2023 listed total of 22,649 thousand tonnes is the sum of the 59 reporters with a reported 2023 value; Turkmenistan has no 2023 value.