In 2020, Myanmar was listed by the Council as a new and emerging market with high potential in Southeast Asia. With a population of 53.6 million people, Myanmar’s underdeveloped feed industry was seen to have the same growth potential that Vietnam had 20 years earlier. However, the feed industry’s understanding of the economic and nutritional value of U.S. distiller’s dried grains was lacking. In fact, inclusion rates were disproportionately low, and the
Council partnered with one of the largest regional feed millers with a presence in Myanmar to reverse this tide.
Through a process of running formulations with local ingredients and imported ingredients, including DDGS, it became clear commonly-used formulation software was kicking out U.S.-produced DDGS. Further, energy equations assigned to U.S. origin DDGS were inappropriate due to unfamiliarity of DDGS by the software designers, who undervalued the product. The Council hired a consultant based out of Malaysia to help our customer rewrite the equations to input into their software system, after which their formulation software began including DDGS. This customer went from zero DDGS usage to 4,000 MT of DDGS sales in 2020 as a direct result of this intervention.
The Council invested $1,040 in Market Access Program (MAP) funds to support this consulting engagement. As a result, the partner company documented 4,000 MT of U.S. DDGS purchases valued at $900,000, resulting in a return on investment (ROI) of $865 per $1 of MAP funds 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.