American Soybean Association (ASA) director George Goblish, a Minnesota farmer, and United Soybean Board (USB) director and Demand Action Team Chair Meagan Kaiser, a Missouri farmer, traveled to Dubai to take part in USSEC’s 5th Regional Aquaculture Production Conference – Middle East North Africa (MENA) from July 20 to 23.  90 participants representing major aquaculture producers and feed millers from 11 different countries in the Middle East and North Africa participated in this conference.
Several speakers from different parts of the world gave talks on intensive pound raceway system (IPRS), re-use of water for hatchery, new technology for efficient fish production, value adding trend in tilapia, market trends in tilapia and several other topics were discussed. A comprehensive review on aquaculture development in Egypt, and other regions (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia) were also discussed. Different equipment manufacturers for aqua feed from the United States introduced their services and equipment at this conference.
Speakers included:

Tony Freiji, Group President and CEO of Wadi Group stated, “No matter how many times a person attends the MENA USSEC conferences, there is always a take home gain that will positively affect our business back home. The professional technical presentations on soy processing and its use, the wholesome exposure to happenings around the world and the priceless interaction with industry experts make every minute worth investing in. Thank you.”
Philip "Skip" Kemp, Aquaculture and Aquatic Consulting, Kemp Fisheries LLC commented, “I was pleased for the opportunity meet up with colleagues and contacts from the MENA area with whom I have been working to establish In-Pond Raceway Systems for USSEC. It was also an excellent opportunity to meet new faces and learn about their situations and needs as well as answer questions and troubleshoot aquaculture problems that they may have experienced. I received positive feedback on my presentations and answered many follow-up questions including offers to help establish new IPRS systems. While at the conference I learned about the status of IPRS in Egypt and that two new systems had been started, which I had not heard about before. So that’s another positive outcome from the conference. I appreciate the chance to work with USSEC on the worldwide aquaculture program and look forward to being of assistance as you expand IPRS and improve aquaculture in the future.”
Tim O'Keefe, Aquaculture Nutrition & Feed Milling Consultant, M.N. Aqua Nutrition Consulting, said, “During the meeting USSEC consultants presented information on the performance of U.S. soybean meal, IPRS technology, hatchery operations, international aquaculture markets, and feed manufacturing technology. In addition to the technical sessions, government representatives from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Iraq provided information about current conditions and developments in aquaculture. During the 2 days of presentations and conversations, we learned that aquaculture operations in Egypt are continuing to develop at a steady pace. Egypt is currently the largest aquaculture producer in the Middle East, and the sixth largest in the world. Egyptian fish farmers harvested more than 1.45 million metric tons (MMT) of fish in 2017. Approximately 80 percent of the soybeans and meal used to feed these fish are purchased from the United States.”
Mian N. Riaz, Ph.D, CFS, Director, Process Engineering R&D Center, Texas A&M University, stated, “At this conference, several speakers from different parts of the world gave talks on IPRS, reuse of water for hatchery, new technology for efficient fish production, value adding trend in tilapia, market trends in tilapia and several other topics were discussed. A comprehensive review on aquaculture development in Egypt, and other regions (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) were also discussed. Different equipment manufacturers for aqua feed from the United States introduced their services and equipment at this conference.”
Mike Sankari, Sales Manager for EU & ME, Insta-Pro International, stated, “There is a unique partnership between Insta-Pro and USSEC. Insta-pro is the inventor of and global experts on high-shear dry extrusion since 1969 and has been in the market with USSEC for a long time. We mutually benefit from the partnership, USSEC usually invite us to introduce our company at their event worldwide and network with their customers to promote our extruder in their operation and we have benefited from those events and added customers to our list. In return we always promote U.S. Soy since it has the highest protein and whenever the USSEC regional office needs our nutritionist to speak and/or present at their local event, we step up and assist. We really have a unique relationship and we strongly believe it will last for very long time and it is beneficial for both parties and we highly value this relation.”
Benjamin Wysong, Customer Relations Director, Wenger Manufacturing Inc commented, “Very informative conference- great diversity of subject matter. As an equipment manufacturer, the opportunity to interact with potential clients is tremendously valuable.”
Kevin Fitzsimmons, Director, International Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said, “The breadth of the speakers and those attending was most impressive.   The speakers covered aquaculture in their home countries from Morocco to Iraq.   This allowed attendees to learn details from all of MENA as well as coverage from other regions with the other international speakers.  The discussions were lively and informative.”