USGC Participates In Arab Bread Day Symposium

To raise awareness of U.S. corn and barley among consumers in the Middle East, staff from the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) Middle East and Africa regional office recently participated at the virtual Arab Bread Day symposium.

The event, held by the Arab Federation for Food Industries (AFFI) and co-hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), focused on enhancing food security in the Arab world.

Nearly 70 participants attended a session where Reece Cannady, USGC manager of global trade, reviewed corn and barley price hikes and what they could mean for milling and backing procurement teams. His presentation offered health-conscious options for consumers in the region and covered the benefits of eating whole grain, sprouted grain and gluten-free bread.

“Traditionally, these products are overlooked in the region due to their premium price at the consumer level; however, as diet trends continue to surge around the world, there will almost assuredly be increasing consumer awareness and product selectivity, upon which FAO could capitalize to keep bread as a staple in all pantries across the region,” Cannady said.

The Council’s Middle East and Africa regional office in Tunis, Tunisia, actively operates programs that help develop export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol in more than 20 countries as well as Europe.

These efforts focus on increasing feed grains market capacities in the region while helping to ensure free and fair trade for imports of sorghum, barley and corn and its co-products.

Learn more about the Council’s work in the Middle East and Africa.