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Golden Opportunity USSEC, FARMERS WORK TO BOOST EXPORTS TO EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA STORY AND PHOTOS BY MATTHEW WILDE
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“IT STARTS WITH BUILDING STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH BUYERS.” — Lindsay Greiner, ISA president
28 | JANUARY 2019 | IASOYBEANS.COM
t’s a golden time across the Atlantic Ocean for U.S. soybean farmers. Not only is it the 50th anniversary of the soy industry’s market development efforts in Europe, but the U.S. has overtaken Brazil as the top soybean supplier in the continent, as well as the Middle East and North Africa. The U.S. is gaining soybean meal market share in the regions, too. The challenge, farmers and industry officials say, is to maintain and hopefully build on recent growth spurred by the U.S.-China trade war. The 2018 U.S. Soybean Regional Trade Exchange — Europe and MENA (Middle East/North Africa) in late November was geared to do just that. Nearly 300 soybean farmers and industry stakeholders attended the four-day event in Barcelona, Spain, hosted by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC). Participants toured local ports, a Bunge crush facility and a feed mill. The conference featured presentations from top-level government and industry officials and networking roundtables for buyers and sellers. To mitigate soybean export losses to China, Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) President Lindsay Greiner and other farmers talked with soy importers and end users about the value and
quality of last year’s record U.S. crop pegged at 4.6 billion bushels. ISA provided $50,000 for the conference, which sparked other states to contribute so the event could be held, according to USSEC officials. “I think the potential for growth of soybean exports to Europe and MENA is good, especially as livestock production increases,” says Greiner, a Keota grain and pig farmer. “We’re working to remain the preferred supplier when the trade war with China eventually ends and the day comes when our beans aren’t a bargain anymore. “It starts with building stronger relationships with buyers,” Greiner adds. “Price is still a key factor.” Due to Chinese demand, Brazil soybeans are fetching big premiums — $89 per metric ton more, on average, than U.S. oilseeds in October, according to government data. A drought last year drastically reduced soybean production and meal output in Argentina, the world’s No. 1 meal exporter. As a result, U.S. soybean and soybean meal exports are up 210 percent and 17 percent, respectively, to Europe and MENA as of mid-December since the marketing year began Sept. 1, according to USSEC Regional Director Brent Babb.
