Jointly organized by USSEC and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), Ag Supply Chain Asia (ASCA) 2018, held recently in Surabaya, Indonesia included more than 280 participants and reaped more than 1.6 million metric tons (MMT) of business interest for U.S. agricultural products.
Participants in ASCA 2018 (previously known as the Grain Transport Conference) represented more than 130 organizations, including importers, end-users, suppliers and service providers from across Southeast Asia. The two-day conference provided participants with an in-depth outlook on the region’s current ag markets as well as the influencing factors, strategic analyses and expert insights to help navigate the global agricultural market.
The North Dakota Soybean Council, South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), with which both USGC and USSEC participate as cooperating organizations, primarily funded the event.
U.S. producers from five states shared presentations of their farming operations and the importance of maintaining sustainable farming practices. They also participated in a U.S. ag producers’ forum and took questions from customers sharing their viewpoints on a wide range of domestic and international topics. Delegates reiterated the U.S. agricultural industry’s commitment to support open markets and free trade, a topic of particular interest in a region with evolving trade approaches following the U.S. exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Presentations included insightful opinions on the main Southeast Asian markets, the global and Chinese outlook for grain and soy, current trends in ocean freight and overall coverage on the supply chain for food and agri-products for this region.
“Talking to major Southeast Asian soy traders was very important to me,” said Sharon Covert, USSEC secretary and Illinois Soybean Association director. “This is a good way for U.S. farmers to connect with our customers. It allows us to find out what traders are looking for in respects to soybean quality, plus this event gave U.S. Soy farmers a valuable opportunity to share the U.S. Soy Advantage message with our customers.”
According to conference evaluations submitted, trades and negotiations included more than 1.6 million tons of U.S. agricultural products, including 900,000 tons of U.S. soybeans and soybean meal and about 780,000 tons of U.S. corn, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and wheat.