The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) sponsored international corn buyers from Korea, Colombia and Mexico at the 2016 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) in St. Louis this week to offer them an opportunity to discuss their perspectives on corn quality with U.S. corn growers.

Corn quality is a critical component of international buyers’ purchasing decisions – and one about which USGC’s global staff works to educate global corn consumers. An example of this work is the release of the Council’s annual quality reports, which are unique among major corn exporters.

“Most people attend this biennial conference because it is laser-focused on innovations and challenges relevant to the wet and dry corn milling industry,� said Dr. Richard Vierling, director of research at the National Corn Growers Association. “It’s an opportunity to network with the best minds in the industry in both formal and informal settings.�

The three international participants that the Council asked to attend were from the industrial corn processing sectors in their respective countries. This week’s meeting offered them unique opportunities to network with the U.S. corn industry and share their insights.

“Each of these delegates gave a presentation highlighting their local business environments and made detailed comments about purchasing U.S. corn,” said Kurt Shultz, USGC senior director of global strategies, who accompanied them at the conference. “Their presentations also included discussions surrounding their perceptions of U.S. corn quality compared to our competitors, including Brazil, Argentina and Ukraine.â€�

The delegates’ presentations generated questions from conference attendees about each buyer’s preference when purchasing corn. All parties left the conference with a renewed sense of camaraderie and determination to work together to assist international end-users in acquiring the quality grains they desire.

“Maintaining a dialogue between U.S. corn producers and exporters with international customers is a key role that the Council embraces,� Shultz said. “Some of the many advantages that the U.S. grain market has are our transparency and engagement with key customers in our export markets.�

Click here to see NCGA’s photos from the conference.