Enabling Trade: Third African Buyers and Sellers Conference Draws Nearly 100 Industry Professionals

Earlier this month, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) held its third African Buyers and Sellers Conference in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, bringing together more than 95 attendees from across the continent to meet with U.S. feed grain suppliers and establish trade relationships.

USGC Regional Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Ramy H. Taieb; USGC Deputy Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Salah Bouthour; USGC Program Manager Mariem Romani; and Administrative Assistant for Africa Mariem Ben Saad represented the Council at the conference, as well as USGC consultants from west and east Africa.

“This event has been one of the highlights on the calendar for the African feed industry since it was first introduced and has significantly improved customer awareness of U.S. feed quality and availability,” Bouthour said. “Increased member engagement has also helped build trust in business relationships and sparked interest in additional commodities among buyers.”

Council members were well represented, with staff from the Iowa Corn Growers Association, The Andersons, Cargill, CM Navigator and International Feed meeting with potential buyers and end-users of their products.

The first day included time for regional importers, feed manufacturers and end users to learn from U.S. farmers and speakers who shared several trade and technical topics, including U.S. grains’ supply and demand, corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) production, performance in poultry diets and more.

In the afternoon, U.S. participants toured Abidjan Port to observe West African trade access and the new port infrastructure expansion in Abidjan that can improve handling speed for customers.

The second day featured technical presentations on sorghum supply and demand, global freight logistics and the latest on the Council’s regional training programs in Africa. Both days concluded with business-to-business meetings between participants and the U.S. agribusiness industry, laying the ground for future sales.

These face-to-face interactions are vital components of the Council’s work to promote U.S. coarse grains and corn co-products and maximize U.S. products’ competitive advantage. As a result of the meetings, sales totaling more than 1,000 metric tons of DDGS and corn fermented protein (CFP) were under negotiation during the event.

The Council’s staff and attending U.S. producers and agribusinesses also visited poultry and aquaculture farms to view local applications of feed grains and enhance their marketing strategies in the region.

“We look forward to continuing to connect with top African feed importers by inviting them to additional conferences in the region and the U.S. to ensure American suppliers are the preferred choice to support Africa’s growing population,” Bouthour said.

Learn more about the Council’s work in Africa here.