In an effort to support Bulgaria’s loyal U.S. soy customers, USSEC participated via a sponsorship and technical presentations at the Annual Conference of the Bulgaria Feed Manufacturers Association (BFMA) held in Varna, Bulgaria. The goal of the participation was to educate the audience about the advantages of using animal feed made with U.S. Soy with an emphasis on nutritional value.
USSEC consultant Dr. Jan van Eys gave a presentation to more than 100 Bulgarian feed industry delegates, and USSEC regional consultant Dr. Iani Chihaia gave an update to the audience on readily available U.S. soybean meal imported by Bunge for Romanian Bulgarian markets.

The presentation given by Dr. van Eys at the event was titled “Quality Control of Soy Ingredients in Animal Diets with Focus on U.S. Soy” and discussed the current situation in the soy and feed ingredients markets, how to properly sample soy ingredients, and updates on quality parameters, with special attention to recent parameters and the specific application to soybean meal.
An animated question and answer session followed, reflecting the importance of the subject for the Bulgarian feed industry. Additional discussions and interactions took place throughout the day allowing a more in-depth exchange of information, especially as it relates to U.S. Soy. Clearly, a major issue and interrogation is the current and future price evolutions of soy and the impact of these on compound feed production and feed cost. This especially in the context of record prices for pork, resulting from the recent ongoing world swine industry crisis.

The other presenters from the protein ingredients panel organized at this event highlighted their companies and the associated various productions and innovations in the field of vegetal protein ingredients products. Consequently, USSEC’s place and the role in stimulating and organizing this meeting was clearly of great value for Bulgarian feed manufactures and the contribution that evidently was greatly appreciated.

At this important, annual meeting of the feed association a significant number of nutritionists, quality control, and purchasing managers participated. Like much of Eastern Europe, Bulgaria represents a significant growth opportunity for livestock production and thus, U.S. soybeans, notably within the greater European context. As such, the place of the Bulgarian feed and livestock industry in the future of the EU livestock production industry is clearly assured and, if properly managed, will provide the U.S. and USSEC with a reliable and growing client base and demand for U.S. Soy.