A number of dynamic changes are taking place in the sorghum economies globally in the last two to three decades both in developed and developing regions where the crop is grown. In Asia, its use as a staple food crop is declining with a shift in consumption towards rice and wheat. Rising per capita incomes, urbanization, change in tastes and preferences are driving this change. However, at the same time, its demand in alternative uses like poultry feed and potable alcohol manufacture is growing. In recent years driven by the greater awareness of the health benefits of sorghum, there is also a growing demand for processed sorghum products particularly in India for ready to use and eat food products mainly in urban areas (from a low base). To sustain the change in the sorghum economies (plate to plough), there is a need to reorient the marketing system by linking farmers to the end users through innovative institutional arrangements. Policies should ensure sorghum competitiveness on farm and directly or indirectly promote its use in food processing and alternative non-food uses.In developed countries and in Latin American countries, sorghum is mainly used as feed but its use is fluctuating and variable depending on its price competitiveness and policies related to trade in feed crops. In the last one to two decades with governments mandating use of renewable fuels for blending with gasoline, sorghum along with maize are being used for ethanol production that has implications for the livestock sector. Policies related to ethanol production will have implication for sorghum production and trade.

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