The U.S. Grains Council, working in partnership with the U.S. barley industry, conducted market promotion and trade seminars for U.S. barley in South Korea in 2019 using Market Access Program (MAP) funds.
The Council held a U.S. barley promotion and trade seminar to promote the nutritional and health benefits of U.S. barley to the food industry in South Korea. Barley is typically used as a rice extender in the Korean diet. The Council invited Dr. Corrie Whisner of Arizona State University to update barley processing and nutritional profiles and to explain the scientific benefits of U.S. barley to local industry participants. The Council also invited three U.S. barley suppliers to give them opportunities to meet Korean barley buyers.
Through these programs, Korean barley importers and food manufacturers recognized the nutritional benefits of U.S. food barley and continued to expand their use of U.S. barley. South Korea imported $1.7 million of U.S. barley and malting barley in 2019, an increase of 14.2 percent over the previous year. By volume, this increase was 20.6 percent, for total exports in 2019 of 4,943 tons. The Council hopes to increase U.S. barley exports to over 10,000 metric tons in the near future.
In 2019, the Council invested $50,000 of MAP funds to promote the nutritional benefits of U.S. barley, boosting sales by $293,000 and creating a ROI of $5.90 for every $1 of MAP invested.
About The U.S. Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol. With full-time presence in 28 locations, the Council operates programs in more than 50 countries and the European Union. The Council believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Detailed information about the Council and its programs is online at www.grains.org.