US Grains Council Engages Aquaculture Sector with Immediate Success

Using Market Access Program (MAP) funds, the U.S. Grains Council Mexico kicked off its latest DDGS market development program in the aquaculture sector. Previously, the Council had a limited engagement with the aquaculture sector in Mexico, with the initial assessment taking place in 2021.

The assessment was conducted in the major aquaculture-producing hubs of Sinaloa, Sonora, Jalisco and Chiapas. Commercial aquaculture feeds represent approximately four percent of the total compound feed market or 1.5 MMT annually. In exploring the potential for DDGS and the high-protein corn co-products being produced by the ethanol industry, the Council found the market potential for their products is approximately 155 TMT per year.

Through a series of face-to-face meetings, workshops and trade team visits, the Council has quickly been able to engage this new market opportunity. Our Mexican customers were excited to hear about HighPro DDGS (>50% protein) as an affordable and sustainable replacement for dwindling supplies of fish meal.

In 2022, the Council sponsored two feed purchasers from a large Mexican feed mill to Omaha, Nebraska where they visited ethanol plants producing traditional DDGS and the newer HighPro DDGS product. As a result of this program and the earlier outreach efforts, the company purchased 1,300 MT of HighPro DDGS for trials to compare it with their current diets in production systems, which was a great start to the aquaculture program with the industry’s largest player.

As a result of the Council’s marketing programs of new technology DDGS, the company notified the Council it planned to use the HighPro DDGS again for this year and purchased 2,500 tons with an approximate value of $1.8 million.