By: Cesar Diaz, U.S. Grains Council Marketing Specialist for the Americas

In recent years poultry has become the most important agricultural enterprise in Latin American economies with yearly consumption per capita experiencing increases of more than 10 percent in the last five years. Since the expansion of livestock production in feed-deficient countries is a principal driver of growth in coarse grain trade, this sector in Latin America is an important market for U.S. grain exports to the region. Poultry is the dominant consumer of feed grains in Latin America using approximately 21 million metric tons for poultry meat production and 7 million tons for egg production.

The U.S. Grains Council has assessed this trend and is aware that in order for this sector to continue growing, poultry producers in the region need to broaden their knowledge in poultry management and nutrition. To this end, the Council hosted a team of Latin American poultry executives to the United States last week. The team visited U.S. grain inspection facilities, U.S. producers through the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Board, and university researchers to discuss proper poultry feed formulations as well as modern management practices which could help the Latin American poultry executives maximize profit.

While at the U.S. grain inspection facilities the team gained an appreciation for the marketing programs and state-of-the-art equipment that is currently being used by the U.S. government to guarantee the quality of the grain that is exported. The other visits highlighted the value-added services that come with sourcing grains from the United States. The team was able to gain an appreciation for the United States being the long-term, reliable supplier of coarse grains and co-products.

The Council will continue to work with this import industry, promoting U.S. coarse grains and co-products while providing education to Latin American poultry producers on how to maximize profit.