Regional Buyers’ Conference Held For Customers In Latin America, Mexico

Last week, the Council’s Latin American and Mexico offices hosted a regional buyers’ conference in Cancun, Mexico.

With more than 90 buyers in attendance, the conference aimed to create a new space for procurement teams from across the region to exchange experiences and refresh their knowledge of current market conditions. The Council’s Corn Harvest Quality Report was also presented during the event, with a dynamic producers’ panel composed of Iowa Corn’s Jolene Riessen and Stan Nelson, Kansas Corn Commission’s Griff Howard and Michigan Corn’s Ned Wyse sharing the latest from the field, crop rotations and inventories.

“Your presence is a testament to the importance you place on staying at the forefront of industry developments, and we are honored to facilitate this exchange of knowledge,” said Marri Tejada, USGC Latin America regional director during her opening remarks at the event.

Topics covered at the event included price risk management; U.S. corn quality; freight, rail and sea logistics; production, supply and demand; and new-technology-distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS).

“The Latin American region, including Mexico, benefits tremendously from the regional buyers’ conference, which encourages opportunities for networking and collaboration among the region’s top importers and offers space to establish new business relationships with more than 10 U.S. suppliers in attendance,” said Heidi Bringenberg, USGC director in Mexico.

“In addition to sharing a common language, the region also shares similar challenges and opportunities with regarding supply chain consolidation in the hemisphere and growing markets for feed grains with increased competition from South America. Our conference was timely with lots to discuss given the record election years in several of our markets and the year’s first venue to position the U.S. advantages in sustainability, feed conversion, technology and biotech.”

The Council’s offices in Latin America and Mexico plan to continue regional engagement with promotional and educational programs, creating opportunities for product awareness and expanding demand for U.S. grains and co-products.