Using Market Assess Program (MAP) funds, the U.S. Grains Council hosted a nine-person team from Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and Jordan to the biennial Export Exchange, held in October 2016 in Detroit, Michigan.

The team included representatives of major feed grain importing companies in North Africa and the Middle East who had the opportunity to visit corn producers, ethanol plants and major grain exporters in Nebraska and Ohio prior to participating in the conference proceedings.

Export Exchange 2016 offered attendees a unique opportunity to meet and build relationships with domestic suppliers of corn, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), sorghum, barley and other commodities. More than 200 international buyers and end-users of coarse grains and co-products from more than 35 countries met with 180 U.S. industry participants for the event.

At the conclusion of the conference, the MENA participants were surveyed and reported they bought or were negotiating approximately 106,500 metric tons of corn and DDGS purchases valued at $18.3 million. The Council invested approximately $100,000 in 2016 in hosting this delegation to Export Exchange, generating a return on investment (ROI) of $180 for every $1 of MAP funds invested.