Joint Cooperator Marketing Conference Generates U.S. Agricultural Sales

Jointly organized by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), Ag Supply Chain Asia (ASCA) 2018 held in Surabaya, Indonesia, included more than 280 participants from 130 organizations who reported they bought nearly $125 million of U.S. corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) associated with the event.

Strategically positioned at the end of the U.S. agricultural marketing window, the event allowed participating importers, end-users, suppliers, service providers and ag professionals to connect and do business as well as offered unique educational opportunities about U.S. products.

The two-day conference included an in-depth look at the region’s current ag markets as well as the influencing factors, strategic analyses and expert insights to help navigate the global agricultural market. U.S. producers from five states shared presentations of their farming operations and the importance of maintaining sustainable farming practices. They also participated in a U.S. ag producers’ forum and took questions from customers sharing their viewpoints on a wide range of domestic and international topics. Delegates reiterated the U.S. agricultural industry’s commitment to support open markets and free trade.

Based on written evaluations submitted, more than 1.6 million metric tons of U.S. agricultural products were traded or negotiated at this year’s conference, which was organized the help of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Council members. This includes 220,000 tons of U.S. corn and 370,000 tons of U.S. DDGS valued at $125 million.

The Council invested $64,000 MAP funds in support of this conference. With reported sales of $125 million of U.S. grains products, this means a return on investment of $1,953 for every $1 invested.