Asia Subcontinent Region Buyers Attend IPPE

A total of 12 buyers from the USSEC region of Asia Subcontinent (ASC) recently attended the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) January 28-30 in Atlanta, Georgia. IPPE is the world's largest annual poultry, meat and feed industry event of its kind. A wide range of international decision-makers attend this annual event to network and become informed on the latest technological developments and issues facing the industry.
ASC included attendees from all five countries in the region: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Most were part of either crushing operations or integrated crushing, feed production and poultry production firms. The ASC region is currently importing between 2.5 and 3 million metric tons (MMT) of U.S. soybean and soymeal combined.
One attendee, Anand Bagaria with the company Nimbus in Kathmandu, Nepal had attended the show several years before. Nimbus purchases mostly whole beans, but also some soymeal, totaling about 20,000 MT per year. U.S. Soy makes up 90% of their soy purchases. The company has a solvent extraction facility as well as a feed mill and supplies poultry producers. They have also just started a small poultry slaughterhouse. Mr. Bagaria said his company focuses on helping poultry producers improve their operations and that he attended the show to get a better understanding of the world soy market and values the interaction with the U.S. soy leadership. “It’s always useful to attend these events and ‘steal’ good ideas,” he said. Mr. Bagaria said he was also looking for more insight into the future of the meat and feed industries overall. “I know the U.S. soy industry leads trends,” he said.
Another ASC attendee was Bilal Ahmed, with the Kauser Group of Companies in Lahore, Pakistan. Kauser Group is an integrated feed mill and poultry production operation, buying about 30,000 MT of soymeal per year. Their bird production is for the broiler category and sold mostly in the wet markets. Mr. Ahmed said that while they are currently focused on feed milling for poultry, approximately 150,000 MT per year, his vision for the future is to add poultry processing operations for the consumer market. This was his first time at IPPE, and he was glad that USSEC gave him this opportunity to attend. “Working with U.S. Soy will help pursue the prospect of adding poultry processing in the future,” he stated. A key for this future, he said, will be to develop important education on cold storage and distribution.
Both Mr. Bagaria and Mr. Ahmed attended the USSEC luncheon and presentations event, along with 130 other soy buyers, researchers and grower leaders. The luncheon was an opportunity to show attendees from around the world how U.S. producers grow soy, and how they can learn more about the advantages of using U.S. soy for either animal or human consumption.
Rusty Smith, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board chairman; Caleb Ragland, American Soybean Association (ASA) and Kentucky Soybean Association director; and Jim Sutter, USSEC CEO delivered presentations at the luncheon.