The Council has had a presence in Vietnam since 1994, and since diplomatic relations were restored in 1995, Vietnam has become the U.S.’s seventh-largest agricultural trading partner. The country has imported more than 1 million metric tons of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in each of the last three years.
In addition, Vietnam imported more than 12.5 million MT or 492,100,000 bushels of corn last year, yet just a fraction of this demand originates from the U.S. Traditional supply chains that favor South American origin and natural constraints to storing higher moisture U.S. corn in the tropics often result in South America being more competitive.
“Vietnam shows an honest commitment to bilateral trade with the U.S. Even though it is typically difficult for U.S. corn to compete into Southeast Asia, when it does, we stand ready to provide technical services to ensure our customers can maximize their experience,” said Caleb Wurth, USGC’s assistant director in Southeast Asia.
The Southeast Asia office refers to this technical servicing as “Tech Talks” and it comes in the form of in-house, one-on-one trainings, where companies can express specific restraints and the Council can give tailored advice.
Recently, the Council’s Southeast Asia office held a session with one of its multinational partners, Mavin Austfeed, a market leader in Vietnam with feed production capacity of over 1.2 million metric tons and product lines in hog, poultry, duck, cattle and aqua feed, to train quality control staff on storing U.S. corn in the Vietnamese climate.
Organized by Nghia Tran, USGC’s consultant in Vietnam, introduced by Wurth and led by Dr. Budi Tangendjaja, USGC’s regional technical consultant, the Council discussed various storage techniques with 42 operation and quality control employees that would enable the company to safely and effectively store U.S. corn.
“Relationships and trust are key to long term market development,” Wurth said.
It is important for the Council to maintain a long-range focus on feed grain and co-product promotion, while also taking advantage of short-term opportunities.
Read more about the Council’s work in Southeast Asia.
About The U.S. Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol. With full-time presence in 28 locations, the Council operates programs in more than 50 countries and the European Union. The Council believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Detailed information about the Council and its programs is online at www.grains.org.