To remain engaged with key customers during the COVID-19 outbreak, USSEC organized a virtual technical seminar that was attended by more than 70 regional participants from the feed milling, poultry, and swine industries on July 27 via the GoToWebinar platform.

Initially targeted at only Malaysian feed mills, self-mixing poultry and swine farmers and full-fat soy manufacturers where the latter was a growing interest, the webinar eventually drew wider spread interest from participants in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam as well.

William Verzani, Regional Agricultural Attaché, Foreign Agricultural Service - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Embassy Kula Lumpur, opened the webinar and highlighted the services and assistance provided by his office.

Timothy Loh, USSEC Regional Director – Southeast Asia shared the “U.S. Soy Advantage: Building a Long-Term Partnership with the Industry,” while USSEC’s Technical Consultants for Animal Utilization Dr. Budi Tangendjaja and Dr. Basilisa Reas discussed the advantages of using full fat soy in poultry and swine feed respectively.

The presentations and Question and Answer sessions were well received by the virtual audience. Chua Kiat Hwa, Senior General Manager, Malayan Flour Mill, and Ng Liew Ee, Sales and Marketing Manager, Soon Soon Group, extended their appreciation and thanks after the event.

Richard Heng, USSEC Malaysia In-Country Representative, who chaired the webinar, noted that full fat soy provides feed producers with an alternative to mitigate the risk of the inconsistent quality of imported grains and protein meals associated with non-U.S. origins. He believes that with increased usage of full fat soy usage in Malaysia, the import of U.S. soybeans into Malaysia will also be increased.