Sorghum Demand Cashes in as Pet Sales Skyrocket During COVID-19 Pandemic
Animal Food Exports 041321
More people are purchasing pets during the COVID-19 pandemic. As many job locations moved from offices to home, and more businesses weren't open to normal activity, that forced more Americans to stay home. As a result, consumers opted to get a new pet.
It's not just a new furry companion in high demand, but also pet food. And the demand is at home and abroad. The American Feed Industry Association says the total value of animal food exports is $13 billion.
And cat and dog food comes in as the third most-valuable category at $1.7 billion in exports last year.
One of the major elements of pet food is sorghum, which is highly sought after due to being gluten-free and rich in antioxidants.
"The pet food industry just continues to take more and more sorghum," says Time Lust, CEO of National Sorghum Producers (NSP). "And domestically, they have been very aggressively bidding against the international markets to try to make sure they get those supplies."
The top export location for U-S Animal Food exports is Canada, followed by Mexico, Japan, and China.
