Since 2011, USSEC has had an active aquaculture program in Myanmar and has led the introduction and uptake of U.S. soybean meal in that nation. Recently, a large commercial aquaculture farming operation was established, which has expressed a desire to purchase and use U.S. Soy for its feeds when they construct their feedmill.
USSEC Myanmar – Aquaculture Technical Manager, Thaw Dar Htwe, noted that the Yuzana Group is in the process of creating a vertically integrated Pangasius farming operation in Pantanaw, about three hours from Yangon. Ms. Htwe has been in contact with the owners, who plan to install significant feedmill capacity at this location and report that they are interested in large purchases of soy to supply this feedmill. In August, USSEC visited Yuzana to “ground-truth” the claims of the company and their plans.
“We know the quality of U.S. Soy and want that kind of quality for our operation,” says Htay Myint, Chairman of the Yuzana Group. “We are thinking that we will need at least 100,000 metric tons (MT) as we get to our planned initial operating capacity.”
USSEC promotes U.S. soy products to the industry, which creates demand. In this case, a potential large volume purchaser is being encouraged to purchase U.S. Soy. USSEC Country Manager – Myanmar Dr. May Myat Noe Lwin and Ms. Htwe are working to to link this company to the U.S. industry to ensure that they use U.S. Soy when their feedmill is established.