Export Exchange 2018 Leads To $403 Million In Sales

Export Exchange 2018 and pre- and post-tours offered by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) in association with the conference allowed nearly 200 overseas attendees the opportunity to build relationships with U.S. suppliers of corn, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), sorghum, barley and other commodities, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in grain sales.

The buyers from 35 countries who attended the event reported purchasing an estimated $403 million worth of coarse grains and co-products, including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and feed grains.

The biennial event was held in October, sponsored by the Council, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy, to offer an opportunity for education of and introductions to members of the U.S. grains production and export industries.

Buyers and end-users were polled while at the conference and immediately after regarding purchase agreements with sellers and how much volume (tonnage) they bought. In total, attendees reported sales of approximately 2.1 million metric tons of grains and co-products traded either at the conference or immediately before or after.

Many buyers noted their purchasing strategies at the 2018 event were more short-term than at past buyers’ conferences due to uncertain relationship between the United States and China and other trading partners. Still, they also reported they valued their long-term partnerships with U.S. suppliers, and many were considering future purchases.

The top grain traded during the two-day conference was DDGS, with more than 1.3 million metric tons collectively exchanged. This number translates to just over 11 percent of the prior year’s total U.S. DDGS exports. In addition, buyers reported contracting 619,000 tons of U.S. corn and 4,050 tons of U.S. sorghum.

Other grains traded at Export Exchange included:

• Corn Gluten Feed – 54,000 metric tons;
• Corn Gluten Meal – 600 metric tons;
• Barley – 500 metric tons; and
• Other products including soybeans, soybean meal, feed wheat – 70,000 metric tons.