Council Partner In Honduras Hosts First Feed Industry Congress

To strengthen relationships and provide information on corn prices, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recently sponsored a speaker at the Honduran Feed Producers Association’s (AHPROABA’s) first Feed Industry Congress in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

The event that hosted nearly 200 participants strengthened AHPROABA’s role in representing feed producers in Honduras and provided training opportunities for the organization’s members and other key players in the feed industry value chain.

Attendees heard Council-sponsored speaker Juan Hinojosa of Stone-X offer an outlook on corn and the relevance of commodities price risk management for the feed industry.

“AHPROABA, the 20-year-old organization that represents 85 percent of the feed production in the country, works on the continuous development and growth of this industry in Honduras. According to the association’s estimates, the feed industry employs 35 percent of the economically active population in Honduras, highlighting the relevance of the role they play in the country’s economy,” said Ana Ballesteros, USGC LTA marketing director.

The Council has worked closely with AHPROABA to support industry growth and efforts to tackle relevant issues affecting importers in the country. AHPROABA facilitates several Council programs, including organizing trade servicing meetings and corn quality report results presentations to its members. The Congress was an opportunity to support a proactive effort for further development and growth of the main users and importers of feed grains in the country.

In marketing year (MY) 2021/2022, Honduras was the eighth-largest U.S. corn export destination – the second largest in Central America – with 875,000 metric tons (MT) (15 percent growth compared to the previous MY). Honduras is also the second-largest distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) market in Central America, with 85,000 MT of DDGS exported in MY 2021/2022.

“The Council will continue supporting AHPROABA and its members in their growth and development efforts, helping to maintain a healthy demand for U.S. feed grains and co-products in one of the most important markets in Central America,” Ballesteros said. “Relevant regional players have operations in Honduras that supply not only this country but other countries in the region, making Honduras a production hub that benefits from the feed industry’s growth in-country and in the other Central American countries they serve.”