Building on the success of last year’s iteration in Dakar, Senegal, the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) regional office for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) held its second Buyers’ and Sellers’ Conference in Mombasa, Kenya last week to establish commercial connections between U.S. feed grain exporters and African importers.
“Buyers’ and sellers’ conferences are one of the best ways to generate trade relationships and there is robust interest from the feed grain industry for continuing these events in Africa,” said Ramy Taieb, USGC regional director for EMEA. “Nearly 70 buyers from 14 African countries attended this year to meet with U.S. exporters and learn about crop quality from U.S. farmers, which will result in significant sales.”
Regional importers, feed manufacturers and end users had the chance to learn from U.S. farmers and other industry experts who shared updates on several trade and technical topics including U.S. corn production, advanced storage practices, feed formulations using corn co-products, global freight logistics and more.
The second day featured presentations on sorghum supply and demand, corn’s performance in poultry and aquaculture diets and the latest on the Council’s regional training programs in Africa. Both days ended with panel discussions and business-to-business meetings between participants and U.S. agribusinesses to build strong foundations for future sales.
“Engagement in the Council’s programs in Africa like this conference and our poultry and feed training courses is extremely encouraging,” said Mohamed Salah Bouthour, USGC deputy regional director for Africa. “Africa has so much potential for U.S. agricultural exports due to its expanding population, particularly in corn and corn co-products for feed grains, and the Council is working on educating feed and poultry producers on the nutritional and economic benefits of U.S. feed products.”
Read more about the Council’s work in Africa here.
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.