The World Soy-Feeds Conference is one of the main annual events in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for local crushers, feed millers and livestock companies. Organized in Saint Petersburg, the event’s main goal is to disseminate the latest international information from the field of market trends, soy processing, and soy ingredient use in animal feeds by the rapidly growing Russian livestock industry.
Early this year, Russian crushers imported 486.1 thousand metric tons (TMT) of U.S. soybeans. This is the second consecutive year that the country has been a key European customer for U.S. Soy. In an effort to continue good relationships with Russian industries, USSEC and United Soybean Board (USB) director Bob Metz led the USSEC delegation at the 2nd World Soy-Feeds Conference, which took place June 1 - 3. USSEC Marketing Director - Animal Utilization (AU) Pam Helmsing, USSEC consultant AU – European Union (EU) Iani Chihaia, and Matt Ammermann, Commodity Risk Manager and Vice President - Eastern Europe/Black Sea Region of INTL FCStone were also part of this team. Local consultant Maria Domoroshchenkova hosted the delegation in her native city.

Mr. Metz spoke to about 200 industry delegates from different regions of Russia and neighboring countries about how he farms quality U.S. Soy for customers around the world, sharing his farming practices, and how he preserves land resources for future generations. Andrey Kolyaskin, general director of the trade house Belagro (Agrolats Group), a grain and soybean meal trader, reiterated what Mr. Metz had said, reinforcing the role of farmers in raising safe, healthy food for people around the world and restating their duty to build the foundation for a future generation of farmers.
Mr. Ammermann discussed the recent rise in soybean and meal prices, and oilseeds market factors influencing the next crop from the Northern Hemisphere. His presentation provided attendees an understanding of the soy market from a worldwide prospective. Factors such as weather, currencies and geopolitics play a role in the latest developments.
Dr. Chihaia stressed the importance of vegetable protein for the global feed industry, focusing on issues related to the most important alternative protein ingredients currently available in Russia: rapeseed meal, double dehulled sunflower meal, and lupins, discussing losses and gains when substituting soybean meal. His presentation concluded that the best broiler performances are achieved only if soybean meal remains the staple of broiler feeds.

The conference was an excellent opportunity to promote U.S. Soy and interact with Russian customers to learn useful information about the latest developments and trends of the feed industry, animal husbandry and Russia’s soy market. USSEC was able to deliver inspiring messages about farming quality U.S. Soy for worldwide customers and how to build the foundation for the future generations of farmers.
USSEC’s presence at the World Soy-Feeds Conference facilitated ample interactions with several local crushing, feed, and livestock companies. The opportunity to chat in an informal manner with industry friends gave the delegation a good understanding of the reality of current Russian livestock production and the challenges of importing U.S. Soy. Continuing USSEC’s efforts to support and educate young Russian specialists in the efficient use of soy will create customer loyalty to U.S. Soy and the continuation and growth of imports.
After the conference, Ms. Helmsing and Dr. Domoroshchenkova visited the Federal Selection - Genetic Center of Fish Breeding in Ropsha, near St. Petersburg, and Gatchinsky Feed Mill, which manufactures different types of compound feeds including aquafeeds. Despite the current low level of aquaculture and fish farming in Russia, this area has a very high potential for development in upcoming years and would contribute to the growth of soy consumption.