Corn Quality, Transparency Takes Center Stage in Record-Breaking Southeast Asia Roadshow

Building on the momentum of the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) recently issued 2018/2019 Corn Harvest Quality Report, a worldwide series of rollouts and road shows kicked off at the end of November in five Southeast Asian countries focused on transparency and quality with key buyers.

“The sooner we can get this information out there to buyers, the more likely we can set U.S. corn and co-products up for successful sales in the region,” said Manuel Sanchez, USGC Southeast Asia regional director. “The U.S. Grains Council is the only organization that puts together an exhaustive quality report like this, and it goes a long way to solidify relationships with grains buyers in countries around the world.”

The annual report provides an early look at the grade factors established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), moisture content and additional quality characteristics as a means of facilitating continued export expansion and food security through trade.

The Southeast Asia roadshow boasted an unprecedented 370 attendees and included stops in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. It culminated in Council participation in Myanmar’s largest livestock show.

“Different countries have different needs. In Southeast Asia, we include corn co-products in the mix because of the high level of interest in supplementing poultry and livestock diets,” Sanchez said. “In the Philippines, we have recorded sales of both corn and sorghum, we promoted distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn gluten meal in Indonesia, corn and DDGS in Vietnam, DDGS in Thailand, and all feed grains in Myanmar.”

The roadshows are intended to promote sales as well as provide time for relationship-building, including allowing attendees to make direct connections with U.S. farmers, and trade servicing with technical and market information.

This first roadshow of the season included U.S. grains subject matter expert Dr. Joe Hancock, emeritus professor at Kansas State University, who presented information on the benefits of using U.S. sorghum and DDGS in broiler and swine diets, as well as Minnesota corn farmer and Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council delegate Dwight Mork, who gave an overview of his farming operation and practices from his most recent crop year.

Southeast Asia represents one of the fastest growing markets for U.S. corn and co-products like DDGS, corn gluten meal and corn gluten feed. In 2017/2018, Vietnam was the seventh largest market for U.S. corn and the fourth largest market for U.S. DDGS, with Thailand and Indonesia ranking fifth and sixth, respectively. Indonesia was also the sixth largest market for corn gluten feed/meal.

For more information about the Council’s activities in Southeast Asia, click here.