The market for distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in Southeast Asia is poised for expansion. U.S. Grain Council efforts in the region have significantly contributed to the favorable export climate.

Exports to Vietnam, the fourth biggest market for DDGS, rose 11 percent between January and August 2011. According to Adel Yusupov, USGC director in Southeast Asia, construction of new feedmill plants in the Ha Duong and Bac Giang provinces will move forward later this year. Plans for expanding the Vietnamese swine and poultry industry using advanced breeding techniques also suggest that an increased demand for feed grain will follow.  

“The region is growing increasingly dependent on feed grain imports amid declining domestic crop production and burgeoning feed demand,� commented Yusupov.

Increased DDGS exports to Malaysia and the Philippines have also been noteworthy, up 99 percent and 50 percent respectively from last year. Thailand’s imports are down 13 percent due to an abundant supply of soybean meal in the market.

The Council-led DDGS Technical Service meetings in the Philippines and Thailand have educated local buyers on the nutritional value and use of DDGS as a low-cost feed ingredient. Numerous regional seminars have targeted key audiences, including major dairy farms and feed milling companies, to provide information on U.S. DDGS production quality.

The Council has also been actively involved in trade policy issues. For example, the Council in collaboration with FAS-Bangkok worked to delay a regulation the Thai government planned to impose on protein levels in DDGS imports, thereby maintaining market access for U.S. producers.