Several months ago, USSEC’s High Impact project began organizing a series of mini meetings called “U.S. Soybean Meal Quality, Sustainability and Market” in the EU to discuss U.S. soybeans and soybean meal.  Along with the subject of quality, USSEC planned to address other topics that interested European consumers, nutritionists, purchasers, crushers and importers.

The three main objectives of the meetings are to establish the quality advantages of U.S. soybean meal, citing research done over the last few years comparing soybean meals of different origins; to communicate the recently developed U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol; and to address the market for soybeans and soybean meal.  This last topic is a top consumer important concern in the EU because of the market’s volatility over the past three years.
The meetings also aim to demonstrate that U.S. soybean meal is the best option for the European market due to its superior quality, service and price.  During the November - March period, U.S. soy is the most cost-effective soybean meal vs. meal from Argentina or Brazil, although the final buying decision of which soybean meal will be delivered to the European market is generally made by importers.  USSEC’s meetings strive to bring final consumers into the decision-making process of their soybean meal’s origin.
The meetings’ format consists of approximately 45 minutes of lecture and 30 minutes of discussion, followed by a luncheon.  The number of attendees will range from between 15 to 30.
USSEC has already held mini meetings in Santander, Spain; Bucharest, Romania; and Bologna, Italy.  Three more meetings are planned before the end of the year:  Tarragona, Spain on November 28; Galicia, Spain on December 13; and a meeting in France with the date yet to be announced.  Meetings are planned for Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Poland in the first quarter of next year.