USSEC Promotes U.S. Soy on Japanese Television

The popular national Japanese television program World Business Satellite (WSB) recently interviewed USSEC staff about the country’s soymilk business trends. James Echle, ASA-IM Japan country director, and Masi Tateishi, USSEC contractor, appeared as guests on the show which specializes in economic and financial information. Echle highlighted the U.S. soy industry’s interest in increasing U.S. soy inclusion in the soymilk market. Japan’s soymilk consumption reached a record high in 2011, at 221,187 kiloliters.

WBS also aired a series of segments featuring Japanese companies using soy in its products. Companies profiled include: Kikkoman, a soymilk plant; Noevier, a cosmetic company producing soy-based cosmetics; and Fuji Pan, a top bakery that recently released a series of soy pastries. Tateishi highlighted the increased use of U.S. soy for these popular consumer products.

Currently, Japan consumes more than one million metric tons (MT) of soy each year with 34,000 MT used for soymilk production. The inclusion of soybeans in soymilk increased by 400 percent in the last decade and USSEC will continue to focus on the growth potential for U.S. soy in this market.

Click here to view the WBS segment. 

TV Tokyo WBS crew filming U.S. identify preserved soybeans & U.S. soyfood products displayed in ASA-IM Japan office

USSEC Highlights Soy Advantages for Poultry Production in Colombia

USSEC recently participated in a seminar sponsored by the Colombian Poultry Federation (FENAVI). USSEC specialist Carlos Campabadal discussed poultry production and nutrition, focusing on the advantages of soybean meal in poultry diets including the high-protein and amino-acid values.

Colombia has South America’s largest potential to grow and increase production of poultry meat and eggs. Colombia’s poultry meat sector grew 3.8 percent last year and egg production at 9.4 percent, generating $675 million. Currently, the country consumes 234 eggs and 23.8 kilograms of poultry meat per capita a year, but those numbers could increase with more efficient production.

Due to previous high importation taxes on U.S. soy, the majority of Colombia’s soybean meal comes from Argentina and Brazil, with only 16 percent imported from the United States. With the recent implementation of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. soy market share has the potential to increase in the coming years. USSEC’s partnership and work with FENAVI provides a potential avenue for increased U.S. soy imports to Colombia.

USSEC Promotes U.S. Soy-Based Feed in Korea’s Aquaculture Industry

USSEC recently visited Daehan Feed Co., Ltd., a leading Korean feed mill, to discuss strategies to expand the demand for soy-based extruded pellet feed in aquaculture. In Soo Shin, aquaculture utilization contractor, met with Daehan’s marketing manager to discuss soybean meal inclusion in aqua feed as well as continuing efforts to extend the use of extruded-pellet feed for all growth stages of flounder.

Daehan has an annual feed production capacity of 10,000 metric tons and expressed interest in partnering with USSEC for future projects to promote soy-based aqua feeds.

U.S. Soy Used in World’s Longest Tempe Bar in Indonesia

The world’s longest tempe bar recently debuted at the National Tempe Festival in Salatiga, Indonesia. The bar used more than 2.5 metric tons of U.S. soybeans and set the world record at 2,165 meters (7,100 feet). Tempe, a traditional fermented soybean dish unique to Indonesia, is a major source of protein in the human diet there. The City of Salatiga, Indonesian Cooperative of Tempe Producers, Satya Wacana Christian University, and the Indonesian Tempe Forum sponsored the festival. USSEC sponsors of the Indonesian Tempe Forum.

The record-breaking tempe bar included more than a dozen tempe producers and 55 volunteers. Local and national media covered the event to promote the Indonesian heritage of tempe and the health benefits of soy. The festival sold pieces of the bar and donated the remaining sections to local hospitals, schools and orphanages.

Indonesia is the fourth-largest consumer of U.S. soybeans, importing more than 1.7 million metrics tons per year. FKS Multi Agro, the country’s leading importer and the largest importer of U.S. soybeans in Southeast Asia, donated U.S. soybeans for the event.

Acceptance of the record by Cooperative of Tempe Producers.

Swine Project Lead by USSEC Designed to Increase Demand for U.S. Soy in Colombia

USSEC provided technical support to CaliCerdos de Colombia, a deboning facility in Cali, Colombia, that recently earned hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) certification. Julio Chaves, USSEC consultant and technicians from the Colombian Swine Producers Association offered guidance during the certification process. Chaves’ technical support focused on compliance with international standards. CaliCerdos expects the certification by INVIMA, Colombia’s equivalent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, will increase consumer confidence and demand in their products. USSEC will continue to promote the advantages of U.S. soy in feed as demand for pork products increase.

USSEC Seeks Marketing Program Manager

USSEC is seeking an experienced marketing program manager to provide oversight, professional project management, and direction to USSEC’s global animal utilization projects.

This excellent opportunity to represent U.S. soybean growers is located in St. Louis and reports to the Global Director of Commercialization and Marketing. Knowledge and experience in agribusiness and specifically the soy industry is a plus. Contact USSEC-HR@ussec.org for additional information.

New China Talking Points Now Available

Are you traveling to China for a marketing mission or hosting a Chinese trade team at your farm this year? If so, contact the USSEC office in St. Louis to request a copy of the new talking points and briefing paper. The document outlines up-to-date information regarding our largest soy trading partner and the most effective messages to improve relations with our largest customer. To request a copy, please contact Greg Olwig, golwig@ussec.org or Lisa Pine, lpine@ussec.org.

USSEC Names Mitsuyuki Nishimura as Deputy Country Director of Japan

USSEC CEO Jim Sutter recently announced the addition of Mitsuyuki Nishimura to the USSEC team as its new deputy country director of Japan. This assignment will allow for a seamless transition to taking over the country director position upon James Echle’s planned retirement in September 2012.

“Nishimura-san brings more than 30 years of industry experience to the soy family,” said Sutter. “His extensive knowledge about the soybean business, as well as relationships in the oil-crushing, feed production and chemical industries, will greatly enhance our efforts to promote U.S. soy in Japan.”

Nishimura most recently led the Kyoto office and Brazilian operations for Sun Chlorella, a Kyoto-based company that promotes products containing chlorella, a strain of green algae grown in fresh water. Earlier in his career, Nishimura managed the oilseeds and feedstuffs department of Nissho Iwai Corporation, a Japanese trading company based in Sogo Shosha, Japan. During that time, he lived in the United States for 9 years, in Portland and New York City, and also lived in Brazil for 12 years.

Nishimura is a graduate of Meiji University, where he studied commerce. He is married with four children, two grown adults and two enrolled in Japanese universities. He speaks Portuguese, English and Japanese and, in his free time, enjoys oil painting and golf.

Soy Feed Promoted to Milkfish Farmers in the Philippines

USSEC recently partnered with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and Santeh Feeds to begin a milkfish cage demonstration project in the Philippines. The project focuses on the growth performance and economic returns of milkfish fed using floating feeds made with soy. As a result, the demonstration showed the advantages of using low-volume, high-density cage culture technologies. Santeh Feeds produced the extruded floating feed used in the project.

“The demonstration highlights how extruded floating feeds and feed enclosures designed to prevent feed from escaping the cages can also minimize the feed conversion ratio,” said Levy Manalac, technical manager for aquaculture. “A proper cage orientation and cage positioning would also maximize fish growth.”

Milkfish farmers in the Panabo and Mindanao regions currently use sinking feeds but expressed interest in using soy-optimized extruded floating feed.

During the stocking of milkfish in the USSEC Milkfish Cage Demonstration Project: (L-R) Mr. Albert Lanojan (Planning Officer, Regional Fisheries Training Center Employees Cooperative, Panabo Mariculture Park); Ms. Maria Lourdes Campeon (Aquaculturist and Officer in Charge of the USSEC Milkfish Demo Project); Mr. Andrew Ventura (Training Center Director, Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources, Davao del Norte); Mr. Levy Loreto Manalac (USSEC Technical Manager-Aquaculture); and Mr. Diomede C. Bucog Jr. (Area Sales Manager, Tateh Premium Feeds-Santeh Feeds Corp.)

USSEC Hosts Chinese Fishery Experts for U.S. Aquaculture Orientation

USSEC hosted a delegation from the China National Fishery Technical Extension Centre, a group representing provincial aquaculture interests in China, on a visit to the U.S. that included stops in Michigan, Maine, Washington, DC and Florida. The program was focused on raising awareness about the advantages of

The visits focused on raising awareness about the advantages of industrialized intensive aquaculture to urge its adopted in China.

The group was accompanied by USSEC aquaculture specialists Jim Zhang and Zhou Enhua who collaborated with the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee to organize the event at Indian Brook Farms. The delegation continued on to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center in Franklin, Maine; The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute in Shepherdstown, West Virginia; University of Maryland’s Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, Maryland; Mote Aquaculture in Sarasota, Florida; and EW Shell Aquaculture Experiment Station in Atlanta, Georgia.

USSEC Hosts Meat-Processing Workshop in Central America

In an effort to increase soy consumption, USSEC recently conducted the 5th Regional Meat Processing Workshop in Costa Rica. More than 25 participants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia attended the five-day event.

The program focused on best practices in meat processing, including the proper use of soy proteins and the advantages of its use in quality improvement such as: increased nutritional value, increased yields, decreased purge and more stable meat products, and meat replacement for healthier sausages and lower price. Participants will utilize this knowledge in their meat formulas which should result in an increase in the amount functional and non-functional soy proteins they use.

Speakers included Juan Camou, Ph.D., from the Food Research Institute of Mexico; Lynn Knipe, Ph.D., meat science professor from the Ohio State University; Eliana Mora from the National Food Research Center of the University of Costa Rica; and Julio Chaves, USSEC specialist. The presentations focused on product development, packaging, and cooking and smoking. Luis Soto from Baltimore Spice discussed the use of soy in meat. Griffith also had three specialists on hand to address sensory panels. Specialists from ChemSol discussed the use of fibers in sausage as well as fat replacements.

Participants had the opportunity to process chorizo and emulsified products using soy concentrate and evaluate production.

More than 25 participants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia attended the five-day workshop in Costa Rica.

Partnership Leads to Increased Use of U.S. Soy in the Phillipines

USSEC began working with Santeh Feeds in the Philippines several years ago to provide technical assistance regarding feed and culture approaches. Over time, the feed mill staff has seen an increased ability to diagnose diseases, as well as an increase in overall health management.

“Two years ago when we came to the farm, their staff would inform us that they had unexplained mortalities but they had no idea what caused it or, how to address the issue,” said Lukas Manomaitis, technical director. “They now show us photos from a dissected fish and a list of initial symptoms.”

As a result of USSEC’s partnership with Santeh, feed mill reports show an increase in purchases of U.S. soy.

USSEC Seeks Marketing Program Manager

USSEC is seeking an experienced marketing program manager to provide oversight, professional project management, and direction to USSEC’s global animal utilization projects.

This excellent opportunity to represent U.S. soybean growers is located in St. Louis and reports to the Global Director of Commercialization and Marketing. Knowledge and experience in agribusiness and specifically the soy industry is a plus. Contact USSEC-HR@ussec.org for additional information.

New China Talking Points Now Available

Are you traveling to China for a marketing mission or hosting a Chinese trade team at your farm this year? If so, contact the USSEC office in St. Louis to request a copy of the new talking points and briefing paper. The document outlines up-to-date information regarding our largest soy trading partner and the most effective messages to improve relations with our largest customer. To request a copy, please contact Greg Olwig, golwig@ussec.org or Lisa Pine, lpine@ussec.org.

USSEC and the U.S. Grains Council recently organized the 6th Asia Grain Transportation Conference in Singapore, which generated trade commitments of more than $100 million in U.S. agricultural products.

Conference attendees heard an overview of the U.S. crushing industry, the evolution of the grain business, and transportation challenges affecting bulk and container shipping. Speakers focused on the impact the Panama Canal expansion will have on trade, cargo insurance and developments in the U.S. export and transportation systems.

Leaders representing USSEC, the United Soybean Board (USB), and the American Soybean Association (ASA) recently attended the China-U.S. Food Security, Food Safety and Sustainable Agriculture Development seminar in Beijing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service and the Development Research Center (DRC) of the Chinese State Council organized the event. Vanessa Kummer, USB chair; Sharon Covert, USB international marketing committee chair; Danny Murphy, ASA first vice president; Jim Sutter, USSEC CEO; Paul Burke, ASA-IM North Asia regional director; and Xiaoping Zhang, ASA-IM China country director joined more than 70 industry officials, researchers, and representatives at the conference.

USSEC recently conducted a seminar in Davao, Phillippines focused on milkfish cage culture and pond feed-based culture. More than 30 members of the Panacan Scrap and Recycle Consumer Cooperative (PARECCO) and sales managers from the Philippine Foremost Milling Corporation attended the workshop. PARECCO currently purchases milkfish feed from the Philippine Foremost Milling Corporation in Mati Mariculture Park, where they are currently operating 20 cages as part of the project.

Dear Friends,
Mark Twain said, “In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.” This year there certainly have been a variety of conditions in the U.S. with some farmers suffering drought and some have had fields too wet to plant. And maybe some of you have experienced both!

The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, or Colombia TPA, took effect on May 15, 2012. The TPA grants U.S. agriculture exporters duty-free access to more than half of the products currently exported to Colombia. The agreement immediately eliminates duties on U.S. soybeans and soybean meal. It also provides duty-free tariff rate quotas on U.S. soybean oil.

A group of USSEC technical consultants recently escorted Asian sea bass farmers and stakeholders to Thailand to visit three fish farms where they learned about the local aquaculture industry. The group, led by Lukas Manomaitis, Southeast Asia technical director for aquaculture, included Siri Ekmaharaj, local coordinator from Thailand, and May Myat Noe Lwin, local coordinator from Myanmar. During the trip, the group met with representatives at Talaythong Hatchery, Nemofarm and Mr. K’s Farm in the Chonburi/Chacheongsao region of eastern Thailand. The group also met with the Thai Union Feedmill representatives where they discussed how sea bass could be successfully raised utilizing soy-based
feed formulations.

USSEC recently escorted two groups of USDA officials to the Industrializadora de Mantecas (IMASA) plant. The tours highlighted the working relationship between USSEC and its key customers, as well as the use of soybean oil in margarine and shortenings.

USSEC recently hosted members of a U.S. Department of Agriculture agribusiness trade mission in Shanghai, China. Michael Scuse, Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service (FFAS), led the largest-ever trade mission to China. Paul Burke, ASA-IM North Asia regional director; Xiaoping Zhang, China country director; and marketing manager Claudia Chong escorted nearly 40 participants to a swine feed mill and swine history museum.

SCOTT Fritz is one farmer you’re as likely to find in a suit and tie as in work jeans and boots. Or you’re as likely to find him jetting to Greece or China as riding his tractor. Fritz, Winamac, is a farmer who’s also an international leader for the ag industry.

Indiana Prairie Farmer

February 2012 Issue

February Japan ASA (1)

ST. LOUIS (February 27, 2012) Agriculture leaders from China committed to purchasing 492.3 million bushels (13.4 million metric tons) of U.S. soybeans, setting a new volume record with an estimated value of $6.7 billion, during signing ceremonies the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) co-hosted at the World Food Prize Center in Des Moines, Iowa, and Los Angeles this week.

Chinese Ceremony

Dear Friends,

Like many of you, I will soon start planting this year’s soybean crop, just as I’ve done for the last forty years. However, every farmer knows no two years of planting are identical and careful planning is needed to ensure profitable harvest. We analyze the market, inspect our current stocks, and make careful purchasing decisions to reflect new technology, scientific innovations and growing global demand. Developing USSEC’s unified export strategy (UES) application is a lot like farming – we must constantly adapt to changes in the marketplace to build demand and customer preference for U.S. soy.

Chinese Commit to Record-Setting U.S. Soybeans Deals During USSEC-Arranged Visits to Iowa, Los Angeles.

Sutter Begins Duties As New USSEC Chief Executive.

Value of Soy Exports Reaches $21 Billion.