More than 185 buying officials, feed manufacturers, corn millers, traders and end-users gathered in Seoul, South Korea, recently to improve their understanding of the U.S. grain supply and demand outlook for the coming year.

The annual feed grains trade seminar builds upon the established relationship between the U.S Grains Council (USGC) and the Korean Feed Association (KFA). USGC has been active in South Korea since opening an office in Seoul in 1972, and South Korea remains one of the United States’ most important export markets for coarse grains and related products.

The event featured prominent experts from both the States and South Korea focused on the 2017 market outlook for U.S. and world coarse grains and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) markets; ocean freight market predictions; foreign currency forecast; feed industry policy discussions; a risk management case strategy; and more.

Participants at this seminar expressed great interest in the incoming U.S. administration’s grain-related trade policies, the mid- and long-term corn price outlook, ethanol policy and planting intentions for 2017. Attendees said they were pleased with the prospect of continued competitive corn prices in 2017.

“Events like the feed grains trade seminar are an opportunity for us to outline expectations and stress U.S. reliability and transparency, which is especially important in sophisticated markets like South Korea,” said Haksoo Kim, USGC director in Korea. “Outreach like this is critical to our effort to make U.S. coarse grains the preferred grain of choice around the world.”

The impressive growth of the South Korean economy and achievement of agricultural industry has enabled USGC to engage in a wide range of initiatives, including value-added product promotion and biotechnology education as well as working with industry and government to promote open market policies.

South Korean buyers are taking advantage of low prices, strong policies and the ongoing market development work done by USGC in their country.

By March of this year, the U.S. exported a cumulative 802,853 metric tons (31 million bushels) of corn to South Korea, highlighting this market’s ability to adapt quickly to changes in the market. In total, South Korea imported nearly 3 million metric tons (118 million bushels) of corn during the 2015/2016 market year. In the first two months of the new marketing year, Korea purchased 1.37 million metric tons (54 million bushels) of U.S. corn.

For more information about the Korea market, click here. Photos from the event are here.