USSEC held the U.S. Soy in International Aquaculture Marketing Mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador from October 19-26.
14 participants, including U.S. grower leaders and USSEC aquaculture staff, took part in this mission in order to better understand the Ecuadorian aquaculture industry, particularly the shrimp industry, and the importance of this market for U.S. Soy. This trip took the team to much of the shrimp aquaculture production chain, including hatchery-growout-processing operations and feedmill operations, along with providing a chance to take part in the annual AquaExpo that brings the commercial industry together for discussions and a trade show.
Participants included Belinda Burrier, United Soybean Board (USB) director; Jerry Bambauer, American Soybean Association (ASA) director; RJ Campbell, Nebraska Soybean Board; Tony Johanson, Nebraska Soybean Board; Diana Beitelspacher, North Dakota Soybean Council; Andy Tauer, Indiana Soybean Alliance; Tom Griffith, Indiana Soybean Alliance; Kary Claghorn, Iowa Soybean Association; Rolland Schnell, Iowa Soybean Association; USSEC Marketing Director - International Aquaculture and Customer Focus Colby Sutter; and USSEC Project Manager Aquaculture/ Customer Focus Dena Hensel.
During this trip, there was also an opportunity for Aquaculture Program Lead Technical Consultant – SEA Lukas Manomaitis to discuss the updated International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database (IAFFD) with the grower leaders to show them how USSEC is trying to directly influence the industry to use U.S. Soy.