Regional Buyers’ Conference Leads To Millions In U.S. Grain Sales

More than 100 representatives of the largest grain and feedstock importers from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South Asia gathered to meet and listen to industry experts and nutritional consultants at the U.S. Grains Council buyers’ conference in Athens in June 2019, walking away having bought more than $110 million worth of grain and grain-derived products.

Ten expert speakers and ten export-oriented U.S. agribusinesses participated in the two-day program, giving presentations on topics ranging from the economic advantages of importing feed grains to the nutritional benefits of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and sorghum.

On the last day of the conference, attendees were given the opportunity to interact and conduct one-on-one consultations with nutritional and technical consultants. These consultations also allowed for networking between U.S. sellers and overseas buyers, which is intended to support the Council’s work in the region over time in addition to generating the immediate sale of goods.

As a result of these sessions, export buyers and companies reportedly bought or contracted almost 500,000 tons of corn and corn co-products, 45,500 tons of sorghum, and 6,000 tons of barley.

The Council invested $474,566 in Market Access Program (MAP) and Agricultural Trade Promotion (ATP) funds to execute this conference. The resulting $110 million worth of business resulted in a return on investment of more than $231 per $1.

Both buyers and sellers gave largely positive feedback on the experience. The success of this buyers’ conference will set the stage for future engagement in the region and support future sales following other conferences and on an ongoing basis.