At the largest event in the Colombian poultry industry, the National Poultry Congress, U.S. Grains Council (USGC) President and CEO Ryan LeGrand participated in a panel with other agriculture industry leaders to discuss the supply chain outlook for feed grains and oilseeds.
Hosted by the National Federation of Poultry Farmers of Colombia (FENAVI), the annual event brought together more than 3,500 participants, including poultry farmers, suppliers, government entities and international guests to discuss the most important issues of the Colombian poultry industry. In this edition of the Congress, the U.S. was honored as the guest country and the Council partnered with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to operate a U.S. booth where visitors could learn about the production of corn, soybeans and the U.S. export system.
During the panel, LeGrand, along with USSEC CEO Jim Sutter and Jorge Garcia, CEO and Founder of Prelude Harvest, LLC, offered insight into the work of the Council, a view into the U.S. feed grain industry and discussion related to the feed grains and oilseeds supply chain.
“It was great to take part in this event with industry colleagues,” LeGrand said. “Colombia has been a great market for U.S. exports over the years, and we look forward to continuing our work in the country to strengthen our relationship.”
The Council has a long history working closely with FENAVI, assisting its poultry producers with their practices and conducting regular programming in the country and region. FENAVI and its members also took part in the Colombia 2040 study that was conducted to estimate corn demand in the region.
“The poultry sector is the largest user of feed grains and co-products here. Around two-thirds of the yellow corn used in Colombia is destined for poultry production,” said Ana Ballesteros, USGC marketing director in Latin America. “FENAVI is a strong industry association in the country recognized and respected nationally by the government and its controlling authorities and by other industries. Its work to support the Colombian poultry industry growth and further development of the sector is key to achieving higher production levels and higher feed grains demand as a result. The Council looks at FENAVI as a partner and will continue supporting its efforts aimed at strengthening and further developing the sector.”
Colombia is the largest individual export market in the Latin American region for U.S. corn and co-products and has consistently been among the top five global export markets. The Colombia 2040 study provided information on the additional expected growth of animal protein production and, consequently, of feed grains demand. Updated corn demand expectation for the year 2030 is more than 8 million metric tons (MMT), or 314,944,000 bushels, and in the year 2040, between 9.4 and 9.7 MMT (370,059,200 and 381,869,600 bushels).
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.