By: Cary Sifferath, U.S. Grains Council Regional Director of the Middle East and Africa

In August 2011, the U.S. Grains Council successfully achieved the inclusion of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), corn gluten feed (CGF) and other U.S. commodities on the Saudi Arabian import subsidy list. Inclusion on this import subsidy list is essential in eliciting interest from Saudi importers of these products. This success has had a real impact: as of Aug. 14, a few weeks from the end of the current marketing year, Saudi Arabia had imported 2.75 times more U.S. corn than over the same time period in the 2012/2013 marketing year.

Despite that growth, the Council believes there is more room to develop the Saudi Arabian market and is taking action to win more sales there. This week, the Council hosted a team of key Saudi Arabian grain buyers from the country’s largest corn importer and largest feed miller, ARASCO, and the three largest dairy farms/companies in Saudi Arabia, Almaria, NADEC and Al-SAFI Dairy Farm. Traveling to Minnesota, Missouri and Louisiana the group received a comprehensive overview of U.S. corn production and its movement to the export market, as well as the chance to meet with several U.S. suppliers and exporters.

During their meetings, the Saudi Arabian grain buyers were able to learn more about the potential supply and price outlook for the 2014/2015 U.S. corn crop. They were also able to express their concerns about the quality of some 2013/2014 U.S. shipments, particularly the level of broken corn and foreign material (BCFM) they experienced.

During the visits, U.S. corn producers explained the methods used during harvest, drying and storage to preserve the quality of corn, which helped improve the teams’ trust in the United States as reliable, long-term supplier of high-quality grains. These face-to-face interactions are vital to addressing U.S. corn quality issues with foreign customers.

The team was also interested in learning more about importation of U.S. DDGS. Industry representatives talked through the possibility of more sales of DDGS and CGF with the team. The Council expects that hosting this team of Saudi Arabian buyers as well as its promotional efforts in Saudi Arabia will lead to increased market share for U.S. corn and corn co-products in the coming year.

Click here to view more photos of this team’s tour of U.S. corn production and export market.