U.S. Grains Council Resumes In-Person Programming In Vietnam

After more than 90 days free from COVID-19 infections, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has resumed in-person programming in Vietnam. Vietnam is a large and continually-growing market for U.S. dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS), and the Council is back to evaluating the market’s changing needs.

“Our first priority is the safety of our staff and consultants across the region,” said Manuel Sanchez, USGC regional director for Southeast Asia. “We believe it is safe for our in-country representatives to resume critical in-person work. Still, we continue to take everything one day at a time.”

The Vietnamese feed industry – primarily working for the poultry, egg and aquaculture industries – has rapidly expanded thanks to a combination of robust gross domestic product (GDP), consumption growth and relatively open import policies.

This growth has expanded demand for feed ingredients. Vietnam was the third-largest market for U.S. DDGS in the 2019/2020 marketing year, importing roughly 1.2 million metric tons, up from roughly 493,000 tons in 2016/2017 when the United States and Vietnam were negotiating phytosanitary requirements.

COVID-19 hit Southeast Asia quickly due to close geographic proximity to China, but the region is more accustomed than many areas in handling epidemics because of previous viral infections like SARS. Still, families in Southeast Asia often live in multi-generational households and have limited economic resources and health care access.

Based on these dynamics, many Southeast Asian nations – particularly Vietnam – locked down hard and fast to halt the spread of COVID-19. To date, Vietnam has only 35 official deaths related to the virus.

In November, Vietnam surpassed 89 days without a COVID-19 infection, meaning the country is back to work. That includes the resumption of embassy travel and the restart of in-person meetings, still with appropriate health precautions in place. As a result, Vietnam will likely register two to three percent GDP growth in 2020, compared to much of the world, which will face negative growth. In 2021, that growth is expected to continue.

“As economies in Southeast Asia get back on their feet, it is important for the Council to be back on the ground assessing what the market looks like post-COVID-19,” said Caleb Wurth, USGC assistant director of Southeast Asia. “Because Vietnam is eager to get back to productivity, it is important for the Council to be right there with our partners as they take their first steps to resuming in-person activities.”

The Council’s work in this reopening phase is to track companies that have defaulted, consolidated or expanded as well as meet with new companies that emerged. The seafood industry was hit especially hard in 2020 due to reliance on U.S. exports and retail markets. USGC consultants have now met with one of the top catfish integrators in Vietnam to offer feeding solutions for their production.

The Council also met with stakeholders in the feed industry regarding testing and documentation requirements put on U.S. exports earlier in 2020. In early December, the Council will host an in-person 2020 corn quality report rollout seminar.

USGC’s leadership will continue to evaluate which programming options are best for each individual market to keep staff members safe while providing the market development support customers around the world know and trust.

“Our Vietnamese customers, along with others around the Southeast Asia region, are getting back to full capacity and are eager to grow,” Wurth said. “We will continue to use our suite of online platforms to support our customers in addition to resuming in-person activities when and where it is safe to do so.”

Learn more about the Council’s work in Vietnam.