Introduction of New Exporter Leads to U.S. Sales in the Middle East And North Africa

One of the challenges that the Council faces in the Middle East and Africa is getting new U.S. exporters to build relationships with regional buyers. U.S. agribusiness has a heavy focus on the Asian market and oftentimes overlooks the opportunities in the MENA region.

During a seminar in 2020, the Council invited one of its members that is less active in the MENA region to sit down with regional grain importers through a virtual event. The Anderson Group, an exporter of corn, soybeans, and DDGS, has the ability to export grain to the MENA region out of the Great Lakes, a region that typically does not get considered by MENA buyers and certainly provides price advantages over some of the larger exporting locations.

In November 2020, the Council hosted 50 MENA buyers from 12 different countries in a virtual conference with the Andersons and other speakers on nutrition and U.S. grain supply and demand. In a survey conducted after the event, attendees reported more than $33 million worth of sales negotiated with the Andersons Group immediately following the conference, with volumes topping 96,000 metric tons of U.S. corn, DDGS, and soybeans.