Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council (MSRPC) Chairman Paul Simonsen and American Soybean Association (ASA) state director William Gordon, recently traveled to Vietnam to get an overview of the USSEC program there and to get a better understanding of the market in which Minnesota is investing its check-off dollars.

During the visit, the group met with U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) representatives in Hanoi and toured feed millers in the north and the south of Vietnam, including the Quang Minh soybean crush facility in the northern province of Hung Yen and the Interflour Cai Mep grain discharge facility outside Ho Chi Minh City.
The program gave the team an excellent view into the Vietnamese market and the role USSEC is playing to stimulate U.S. soy exports.  The MSRPC approved funding for the Vietnam country representative office and staff through the 2013 fiscal year.
Vietnam is the most rapidly growing feed and livestock market in Southeast Asia, producing over 13 million metric tons (MT) of feed in 2013.  This year, imports of soybeans and soybean meal from the U.S. are expected to exceed 850,000 MT (over 33 million bushels), an increase of almost 300% over the previous year.  The market is serviced by USSEC through its in-country representative team based in Hanoi.