CME Launches Sorghum Basis Futures Contracts on August 24

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group is launching sorghum basis futures on August 24, 2026. The contracts will be physically delivered to a network of elevators in Kansas, the nation's largest sorghum-producing state.

This development reflects the price difference between sorghum and corn, two types of grain used in animal feed and ethanol production. According to CME, 'sorghum's premium over corn usually signals international demand driving values higher.'

John Ricci, managing director and global head of agricultural products at CME Group, noted that while sorghum prices tend to track corn closely over extended macroeconomic cycles, geopolitical events and regional supply shifts can disrupt this relationship.