Between 2010 and 2020, the Latin American swine industry nearly doubled its production. As the industry continues advancing toward industrial production from backyard operations, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is looking for ways to assist in the growing demand for feed grains and co-products.
This week, the organization held a workshop in the region, inviting leaders of eight pork industry associations across Latin America to discuss and reflect on opportunities to continue developing the pork industry in each of their countries.
“The pork industry has been developing and modernizing its operations across the region,” said Ana Ballesteros, USGC marketing director for Latin America. “Even though backyard operations still have a relevant share of total pork output in each country, the pork producers’ associations have worked hard to industrialize production and to lead those that persist in improving sanitary conditions and adopting better nutrition practices to protect the whole industry.”
“Another transition these leaders have seen in recent years is how the quality and healthy perception of consuming pork products have changed, responding to successful efforts to combat misleading myths. Now, they are working on promoting higher consumption.”
The workshop provided a corn production, supply and demand overview; a global pork industry outlook; a look at the pork industry’s sanitary challenges; a segment on promoting consumption and a marketing basics overview to increase the effectiveness of campaigns in the region. A strategy workshop allowed the participants to discuss the challenges and opportunities to further develop the pork sector in their countries and identify experiences among their counterparts in the region that can be useful for their specific needs.
“The presentations and the strategic discussions after them, evidenced that even though each country has specific challenges and opportunities that need to be addressed, there are also commonalities. The leaders understood that topics such as securing funding for their operations and activities, analyzing their own efficiencies and promoting consumption are some of the issues they are all focusing on,” Ballesteros said.
By holding this workshop, the Council hopes to strengthen its partnerships with pork producer associations in the Latin American region, while being able to further identify projects that support swine industry modernization and contribute to the improvement of production efficiencies.
“The Council is committed to supporting the growth of this dynamic sector that is open to learning from others’ experiences. In 2020, the Council’s regional consultant Carlos Maya, former leader of the Colombian Pork Producers’ Association, joined the Latin American team. Since then, the Council has been providing additional value to this industry by facilitating guidance based on Maya’s experience,” Ballesteros said.
“This workshop is the latest example of how the leaders trust and identify the Council as an ally and additional engagements will continue through the year, including participating in the in-country events organized by the associations, or taking a team of integrators to the World Pork Expo in June.”
Learn more about the Council’s work in Latin America 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.