On Aug. 2, USSEC will host it's second annual commodity roundtable to review and approve statistics about the soy trade in India.  The event will be held in Mumbai and will gather together the top soy crushers, refiners, and food and feed processors to review the soy trade "balance sheet."  USSEC regional director Mit Goblirsch, economist John Baize, and USSEC consultant Dana Johnson will moderate the program and issue a final report to soy stakeholders in the U.S. and India.
Official soy export and consumption figures in India have been historically unreliable due to under-reporting and incomplete value chain analysis.  USSEC believes even USDA's data on Indian production, supply and demand figures are under estimated by 20 to 25 percent.
Sharon Covert who chairs the United Soybean Board's Customer Focus Action Team and is a member of the USSEC Board, said, "I have visited India several times to meet with customers and review our programs and I know we're making a difference."  She continued, "We owe it to our stakeholders to establish the most reliable and respected figures for the soy market in India so we can calculate return of investment and adjust programming to address market trends."