USGC Directors Provide Trade Outlook
Building and maintaining markets goal of oversea offices.
Compiled by staff
Published: Jul 22, 2009
Members of the U.S. Grains Council's Board of Delegates now have a better understanding of international markets after an overview of trade at the 49th Annual USGC Meeting in San Diego, Calif. on Tuesday. Joe O'Brien, USGC's regional director in the Middle East and Subcontinent, called Saudi Arabia the land of opportunity for U.S. farmers. O'Brien says Saudi Arabia is a wealthy country, growing in population by 2% per year and due to its lack of natural rainfall, Saudi Arabia aspires to replace all domestic grain production of water-dependent crops like corn and wheat with imports.
Saudi Arabia's import feed ingredient subsidy program has gone through several revisions, each time reducing its allocations. O'Brien says as this happens, opportunities grow for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and their related co-products to penetrate the market. Distiller's dried grains with soluble is not included on the subsidy list.
Meanwhile, Tommy Hamamoto, USGC director in Japan, says the Council's Japan office strives to maintain the 88 % U.S. market share of imported DDGS and the 99% U.S. market share of imported corn in Japan. Food and feed barley also provides U.S. farmers' opportunities in the healthy foods market. Hamamoto says the Japanese livestock industry recognizes DDGS as an abundantly available feed ingredient and will continue to use it in their feed rations.
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Tagged: barley, wheat, sorghum
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