Northeast European Soy Buyers Attend USSEC Buyers Training Course in Poland

60 people took part in the Northeast Europe Soy Buyers Training Course, recently held in Warsaw, Poland. While the majority of the participants were Polish grain and feedstuffs traders and purchasing officers of key feed compounders and livestock integrators, some customers from smaller northeastern European countries, namely Hungary and Czech Republic, were invited too. A strong group of USSEC customers from Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, and Russia also attended the workshop. Several top executives from major regional trading were present in the audience.
Three trainers represented International Grain Program (IGP) of Kansas State University, INTL FC Stone and CME Group.
Matt Ammerman of INTL FC Stone introduced the audience to the present situation and outlook for soybeans and soybean meal global markets on the background of oilseed and protein markets. Lisa Kallal (CME Group, UK) led the teaching on the options on futures, while Mr. Ammerman and Dr. Jay O’Neil (IGP) jointly explained the various aspects of technical trading analyses that followed by practical classes and case studies that were interactive and got the participants truly involved.

Representatives of all major trading companies and feed compounders gathered at the grand InterContinental Warsaw Hotel to learn about U.S. Soy
IGP’s Dr. Jay Neil shared his professional knowledge

Besides the update on the global soy market situation and outlook as well as hedging and technical tools, the audience got a short perspective of the competitive advantages of U.S. Soy and soybean meal as proven by some USSEC projects and a number of international research studies published in the most reputable scientific journals. Jerzy Kosieradzki, USSEC Technical Director – Northeast Europe explained the uniqueness of the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP) and how to receive the U.S. Soy Sustainability Certificate when purchasing their beans and/or meal from the U.S. The SSAP brochure and information about the USSEC website were given to the participants so that they could learn more and encourage the use of the tool.

During coffee and lunch breaks, the trainers were available to the trainees. Lisa Kallal (left) and Peter Kiss (Hungary) discuss the soy market news.
Matt Ammerman (INTL FC Stone, Central & Eastern Europe Director) was an exceptional lecturer and kept the audience involved.

Peter Kiss, CEO of ADM-Hungary and President of the Hungarian Grain & Feed Association – Gabonaszovetseg said, “Thank you for having us at such a valuable learning event which included such great interactive teaching tools. We will definitely benefit from the knowledge gained here.”
Some traders asked later via phone calls and/or email messages for more advice about SSAP certificates.

The classes left plenty of room for participants to ask questions and comment on the teaching subject. A young trader from Cargill-Poland comments on technical trading tools.
The SSAP brochure was studied by the participants. Oldrich Blazek, DeHeus, Czech Republic, takes some time to learn about U.S. Soy sustainability and the opportunity to get the SSAP Certificate.
On the second day, the audience was divided into smaller groups and worked on a number of case studies to get a more practical perspective on the soybean meal purchasing procedures. One of the Polish groups sweats over case study number four.
The participants of the international training course received certificates of completion. Jerzy Kosieradzki hands the certificate to a Polish graduate.
Dr. Piotr Rucinski, Oilseed/Protein/Feed/Livestock Analysts, FAS-Warsaw, engrossed in a conversation with Agnieszka Kotarska, Soy Purchasing Manager, Glencore-Poland, on Poland’s oilseed crushing industry.