Three Russian professionals visited the United States to attend the U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange and connected activities in Chicago, the largest soy event bringing together international trade teams and U.S. Soy industry representatives for key discussions and personal networking.
Mr. Evgenii Shargorodskii and Mr. Evgenii Barinov, leading specialists from Sodrugestvo Group, the largest soybean crusher and importer of soybeans in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); and Mrs. Kseniia Malik, senior specialist of feed stuff purchasing direction from Cherkizovo Group, the largest vertically integrated meat and feed producer in Russia.
Because the Russian team was coming from an Asian Swine Fever (ASF) - positive country, they spent the field day at the Chicago Hilton due to biosecurity protocol, attending a risk management training course. Matt Ammerman, Commodity Risk Manager - Vice President Eastern Europe/Black Sea Region, INTL FCStone Financial Inc., FCM division was the keynote speaker and presented a global soy outlook. With the current soybean shortage in the domestic market, the information delivered was of high importance to the Russian customers.
Later in the day, conference attendees gathered for the opening networking reception, where new contacts were made.
The Russian team was part of the Black Sea Mediterranean group during Trade Team Invitational (TTI). The Russian visitors remarked that the presentations made by company representatives from Gavilon, Stone Arch Commodities, SGS, and Hang Tung Resources (USA) Co., LTD companies were very informative and interesting.
After the TTI sessions, the follow up visit to the trade show and personal meetings with representatives of exhibitor companies helped the Russian team to get a better understanding of U.S. business opportunities, the operation of the soy industry, and the benefits of U.S. Soy.
The conference, held on August 22, focused on many topics from the world economy, trade agreements, and U.S. agriculture policy, including a world soybean and grain supply and demand outlook; evaluating soybeans from different origins; and new communications technologies in international agricultural trade. The conference featured opportunities for exporters and buyers to connect and attend sessions covering market dynamics, ASF, and more. During the conference, USSEC continued to build a preference for U.S. soybeans in the world market by connecting buyers and sellers of whole soybeans, soybean meal, and soybean oil and focusing on the high quality and sustainability of U.S. Soy.
On August 24, the Russian team members were given the opportunity to visit the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) (Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT)), meet with traders, and learn more about buying techniques and futures trading. After the visit to CBOT, they attended the presentations of the market day with an update on economy, global supply/demand for different commodities, and market technical analysis relying on weather effects for the remainder of the growing season.
The Russian visitors were pleased to attend the GTE and other activities arranged by USSEC, saying that they were very satisfied with the high level of the conference. They look forward to the resolution of the current restrictions on the import of U.S. Soy to Russia for the benefit of both countries. The Russian customers were also pleased with the professional relationships they built during their visit, saying they would never forget their first visit to Chicago, a center for U.S. and global agriculture transactions.