USSEC, USGC delegates visit Southeast Asia

Asian soybean importers just want to meet the American farmers who are growing the beans they’re buying.

The U.S. Soybean Export Council along with the U.S. Grains Council and several other organizations are collectively hosting the 2019 Southeast Asia U.S. Agriculture Cooperators Conference in early August.

The farmers

North Carolina farmer Jacob Parker is one of those farmers meeting Southeast Asian importers of his soybeans. Parker is a member of the United Soybean Board of Directors where he helps direct soybean checkoff funds toward research, marketing and promotion efforts ton increase soy farmer profitability.

This mission is close to his heart because his family grows soybeans, corn and wheat in Tyrrell County, North Carolina, Parker said. “Each growing season is different.”

And 2019 has been “quite difficult and challenging for a number of farmers in the United States,” Parker said.

“Over the past year, we have faced fluctuating markets and complicated planting seasons,” he said. “But our commitment to producing sustainable and reliable soy has never wavered. I know this firsthand as a farmer, and I hear it from my neighbors.”

Parker praised American farmers for working hard in the fields to ensure the continuation of delivering quality product to customers. One area Parker is proud to discuss is sustainability of U.S. soy and the Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol that is in place to work with markets today.

“Now, I also enjoyed thanking our customers while I’ve been on this trade mission,” Parker said. “This is very important. I’ve learned over several trade missions it is very important for us farmers to be here. That we serve as the face of the U.S. farmer.”

Brian Kemp is another farmer on the trip, coming from northwest Iowa. He’s a member of the American Soybean Association board of directors and a director on the USSEC board.

“I can personally speak about some of the promising markets that have emerged for soybeans,” Kemp said. “In the year and a half I’ve been on USSEC, for example, the Philippines—they have a huge population and recently overtook Mexico as largest customer of U.S. soybean meal.”

During his time working with USSEC and ASA it has been made clear through meetings with purchasers, meeting face to face with farmers has helped grow soybean sales abroad.

“This is especially important as a soybean farmer because we have been growing beans for an international market for a number of years,” Kemp said. “While we use a lot of what we produce domestically, we cannot use it all. The international customers are very important to our soybean production business. A lot of the foreign sales of soybean products to come on relationships and developing those relationships is the number one priority for the U.S. soybean industry.”

A corn farmer from Kansas, Dennis McNinch, is the chairman of the Kansas Corn Commission and was recently elected to the board of directors for the National Corn Growers Association. McNinch also serves as a grower representative on the USGC.

“I am happy to have had the chance to travel here to Singapore to the Ag Cooperators Conference to meet with our customers and share what’s happening back home related to the corn crop and hear their needs and their wants related to the products we are selling them,” McNinch said.

He sees the meeting as part of the USGC’s commitment to farmers and others who make up the membership as well as its commitment to increasing customer profitability.

“Both sides of that equation are important to trade,” McNinch said. “I am happy to be here to do what I can to forge enduring partnerships between U.S. producers, exporters and southeast Asian importers that will increase demand for U.S. corn farmers’ products.” 

Organizational perspective

Jim Sutter, CEO of USSEC, said the event is in its 15th year and brings together association representatives, farmers and many more to increase the demand for American crops, particularly soybeans over seas.

“This year is a little special because it commemorates USSEC 40th anniversary doing work in southeast Asia,” Sutter said. “I’ve personally seen many successes here in southeast Asia over the last few years.”

Increased animal production, aquaculture production and sophistication from the users of soy have helped grow U.S. soy demand in Southeast Asia.

“U.S. soybean farmers have been impacted by export uncertainty and trade tensions, and while the short-term aid that they received is helpful, our farmers really need stability and long term solutions,” Sutter said. “We’re working to provide that stability by building demand and expanding global market access for U.S. soy products in markets aside from China.”

Sutter said this means building existing relationships abroad and investing in new ones, and evolving and growing markets in this particular area. Southeast Asia is a great example of where USSEC sees a future for U.S. soy—building on its 40-year footprint—as an area where there is continued growth going on.

“This is an important summer for American farmers, it’s more important than ever,” Sutter said. “With events like this one that we are currently hosting to be trying to grow demand to make sure that we have markets to take all of the U.S. soy production that is currently in the ground.”

Farmers have paid a steep price in 2019, and USSEC has been working to diversify for years, but have been putting in extra effort to try to grow market share in existing markets right now, according to Sutter.

“In other words, expand the share of the pie we have in markets that are normal soy importers, and trying to grow markets organically in places where there is really very low soy demand today,” Sutter said. “But in these places where we think there is long term opportunity to try and grow those markets.”

USSEC Regional Director for Southeast Asia Timothy Loh oversees the USSEC efforts to promote U.S. soy throughout the region, and they’ve been working hard to create a preference for U.S since it’s a large and growing market with great upside potential.

“Currently 650 million people in this region call home and its population expected to grow to 690 million by 2025,” Loh said. “This growing population means that there is a robust and growing market for soybeans and soybean meal.”

According to Loh, this conference and events like it are vital to increasing the demand for U.S. soy.

“It is very important for importers and end users in our region to meet our U.S. soybean farmers and put faces of our growers to the product,” Loh said. “We’re also growing demand for U.S. soy in this region through a broad range and depth of technical programs.”

These technical programs are aimed to engage and educate professionals that are nutritionists, technical professionals, feed formulators, and quality control personnel on the high over all nutritional value of U.S. soy.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure working with the customers of U.S. soy here in Southeast Asia, and continuing to grow the U.S. soybean value chain abroad,” Loh said.

Cary Sifferath, senior director of global programs for USGC, oversees the Asian offices and programs, said the goal is to increase demand for feed grains in all forms to benefit USGC’s members, U.S. farmers, members of the U.S. agribusinesses and help bolster the overall U.S. economy.

“All are important parts of the puzzle for trade,” Sifferath said.

The southeast part of Asia is a market where the direct impact of a ground presence can be seen on a daily basis.

“Both proactively working with local industry to respond to market forces, and undertake demand building activities that will benefit over the long haul, as well as helping manage challenges facing our markets that emerged on a day to day basis,” Sifferath said.

Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or [email protected].