USSEC organized the 2nd Protein Purchasing Seminar in Europe in Rennes, France with the collaboration of the Consulate of the United States for Western France. The main objective of the seminar was the discussion of key areas related to the soy market and other proteins. Seminar subjects included production, logistics, markets, trading, sustainability, GMO/non-GMO, and quality differentiation in relation to origin.
The day and a half meeting attracted 40 attendees representing the largest part of the French industry, feed compounders, importers, and crushers.
Kate Snipes, Agricultural Counselor at U.S. Embassy in Paris, welcomed the attendees and presented the U.S. Soy market to the group. Other seminar speakers hailed from Bunge and Cargill, who discussed the markets in France and Europe, and USSEC consultants Dr. Gonzalo Mateos and Dr. Jan Van Eys who presented the U.S. Soy nutrition advantage and quality and how to use soybean meal in the feed business based on real value in the quality depending on the origin.
FCStone and Trilateral speakers led a risk management session, with FCStone, CME, Bunge and Cargill representatives explaining their different tools to manage risk. In a sustainability session, USSEC presented the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP) as the best tool to answer consumers’ demand related to this subject. There were also speakers from the feed and meat industries of Agravis (Germany), Veronesi (Italy), and Spain’s Vall Company, as well as France’s Feed Alliance who shared information about protein purchasers in each of their countries and also to explain their challenges.
This seminar allowed USSEC to collaborate with European market leaders to provide them with a better understanding of the soy market and U.S. Soy.