USSEC participated in the International Soybean Growers Alliance’s (ISGA) mission to Beijing, China from April 10-15.
Delegates included participants from Brazil, Canada and the U.S. U.S. soybean farmers were represented by USSEC chairman Laura Foell, USSEC CEO Jim Sutter, American Soybean Association (ASA) chairman Wade Cowan, and United Soybean Board (USB) vice chairman John Motter.
Over the course of the week the delegation learned about China’s economic and political environment, held various meetings with industry partners, and engaged with government officials regarding biotechnology approvals. The Mission concluded with a Soy Fair where representatives from the delegation, Ambassadors from Argentina, Canada, and Uruguay, and Ag Counselors from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Uruguay and the U.S. engaged in dialogue with more than 100 Key Opinion Leaders in China. The nature of the event was to talk about agriculture in the respective countries as well as the valuable role biotechnology plays. We are tracking the activity from the Soy Fair and will look forward to sharing the outcomes of the interaction.
China is a very important trading partner, importing over 78 million metric tons (2014/15) with nearly 30 million metric tons coming from the United States.