USSEC hosted the 3^rd U.S. Soy Supply Workshop in Manila, Philippines on May 16-17.  The workshop drew over sixty local soy importers, accounting for one million metric tons (MT) of soybean meal (SBM) and 40,000 MT of soybeans.  The event also brought together a mix of livestock raisers, feed millers, integrators and local traders of feed ingredients.

The U.S. soy-centric workshop focused on six key subjects: Strategic Overview of the Soy Market; Efficiencies in the U.S. Grain Transportation System; Understanding the Market Fundamentals for Agriculture; Maintaining the Quality of U.S. Soy Products in Containerized Shipments; Ocean Freight Market Outlook; and Risk Management Strategies.  Two separate workshops were conducted across the two day event: an open invitation event and an in-house workshop specifically for San Miguel Foods Inc., the largest food conglomerate in the Philippines.
Globally, the Philippines is the largest customer of U.S. SBM outside of North America and imported roughly 900,000 MT of SBM in 2012 for an approximate 60% market share.  The objective of the U.S. Soy Supply Workshop Series is to provide essential information needed by importers and end-users in order to purchase their soy requirements from the U.S.  This workshop is an important marketing program that supports the overall utilization efforts by USSEC Southeast Asia.