Determinants of the Export Demand of U.S. Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles

The production and utilization of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product of corn ethanol, have surged since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in the United States. The exports of U.S. DDGS have also rapidly grown more than five folds over the last decade. The objective of this study was to identify the determinants of U.S. DDGS exports and project the growth of DDGS exports to major international buyers. A commodity-specific gravity model was applied to U.S. DDGS exports to 29 countries from 2000 through 2013. Results suggest that importing country meat production, technical barriers to trade, tariffs, and U.S. ethanol production influence U.S. DDGS export quantities