Council’s China Office Organizes Largest Sorghum Trade Team For Export Sorghum Event

In June, the United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP), along with its state partners – the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission and the Texas Grain Sorghum Producers Board – held Export Sorghum in Houston, inviting sorghum buyers and end users worldwide. China, the largest U.S. sorghum importer, was present during the conference with the largest delegation in attendance this year.

In tandem with the event, the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) China office organized a post-tour in Texas and Kansas to get a firsthand look at the current sorghum crop and export logistics.

The Council’s Beijing office recruited 22 participants, including representatives from five of the top 10 exporters and 12 of the top 20 feed millers in China. Team members consisted of large state-owned trading companies, large private end users/integrators and some relatively small-scale but active groups in the market. The team represented nearly 70 percent of the total sorghum imports in China.

“This trade team with high-status representatives indicates the top buyer’s interest in U.S. sorghum; it also reflects a strong trade relationship between the U.S. sorghum industry and China’s feed and livestock industry, which has been fostered over a decade jointly by the U.S. sorghum industry and the Council,” said Yantian Zeng, USGC program manager in Beijing.

The team attended the two-day Export Sorghum conference to discuss sorghum supply and demand, sorghum in feed uses and other new applications. The team also met with more than seven sorghum exporters in one-on-one meetings. The business-to-business sessions allowed exporters to meet the Chinese representatives, which was one of the goals of the delegation as they look to diversify suppliers.

”A broader portfolio of suppliers not only allow buyers conduct their business with more flexibility, but more importantly, the activeness of the business in domestic markets also helps strengthen the confidence of international buyers,” Zeng said.

Following the conference, the team visited export terminals in Houston, along with sorghum farms and local elevators. The experience of meeting growers in person and setting foot in the sorghum field was very helpful for the team, providing them with first-hand information on sorghum production in both Texas and Kansas. The group also visited Council members, the DeLong Co., the Andersons and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to discuss and exchange sorghum market updates.

“What I previously knew about sorghum trade was like the pieces of puzzles,” said one of the purchasing managers in the delegation. “This experience helped me put the pieces in the right places and see a full picture of the U.S. sorghum export process.”