The Vth World Soy Business Forum/Conference for the production and processing of soy feeds and soyfoods took place in St. Petersburg, Russia at the end of May. The publishing house Sfera organized the event. Since the first conference organized in 2015, the World Soy Business Forum/Conference has become one of the main annual soy events in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for local oilseed crushers, feed millers, and livestock companies. For the first time, soyfoods and soy protein ingredients and phospholipids/lecithin sessions were included in the conference program this year. USSEC has been a Golden Partner of this event for five consecutive years, providing knowledge on the latest technical developments, market trends and soy innovations in the global and U.S. soy industries. The working languages of the conference were Russian and English.

This year, the Forum had plenary sessions and three concurrent sessions covering different aspects of the soy complex such as:

These various topics allowed a varied and wide discussion on all things soy.
Rosalind Leeck, USSEC Senior Director – Market Accesss; two European animal nutrition consultants Dr. Jan van Eys and Professor Julian Wiseman; and local consultant Maria Domoroshchenkova, who hosted the delegation in her native city represented the USSEC team. All USSEC attendees presented separate papers on a wide range of subjects, allowing for good recognition and visibility of USSEC and major U.S. soy products. The papers presented by all four USSEC representatives emphasized the important and critical role of U.S. Soy.
Immediately following the official opening of the conference, Ms. Leeck gave a presentation on the current status and future trends of the global and U.S. soy industry to more than 250 industry delegates from different regions of Russia and neighboring countries.

In addition to the presentations, a large number of exhibitors, many of whom were also sponsors, were present. This allowed for additional and more practical exchanges as to the use and application of soy products.

USSEC’s presence at the World Soy Forum allowed networking and meeting with several local soy processors and feed and livestock companies, which helped provide a good understanding of the current Russian livestock production reality and the challenges or opportunities that exist for U.S. Soy. The important role of USSEC and U.S. soybean production and global supplies was discussed during the event and it was clearly appreciated and recognized.