St. Louis, Missouri
June 27, 2006
U.S. soybean farmers are looking
for new ways to build demand for soybeans and soy products by
exploring partnership activities with growers in Paraguay. U.S.
soybean grower-leaders recently met with Paraguayan farmers to
discuss how they could work together to increase market
potential and improve soybean farmer profitability.
The result is a farmer-based agreement, called the Global Grower
Development Agreement, signed between the United States Soybean
Export Council (USSEC) and the Paraguayan Chamber of Cereals &
Oilseeds Exporters (CAPECO) and Paraguayan Soybean, Oilseeds and
Cereals Producer Association (APS). Grower-leaders from the
United Soybean Board
(USB) and American Soybean
Association (ASA) were also on hand to endorse the
agreement.
“We are excited about working with Paraguayan soybean farmers to
increase the use of soy in markets like India,” said Curt
Raasch, USB chairman and a soybean farmer from Odebolt, Iowa.
“This was really the first time that grower-to-grower
discussions have occurred between U.S. producers and our
competitors about partnering opportunities in a specific target
market.”
The agreement concentrates on activities in the Republic of
India with the understanding that additional markets can and
will be added if deemed mutually beneficial to both parties. The
United States does not currently export soybeans or soy products
to India. Considering that the population of India is projected
to surpass China by the year 2040, and India’s soybean meal
consumption per capita is currently one-tenth that of China’s,
increased demand for soy in India’s poultry, dairy, aquaculture
and human sectors could open up substantial new opportunities.
The United States is already implementing programs to increase
demand for soybeans in India, and South American growers are
being encouraged to support these efforts by funding activities
like feed technology workshops, feed marketing support, and
soyfoods training programs.
“Our initial goal is to get the Indians to consume their own
soybean meal and thus decrease their exports to key markets in
Asia and the Middle East,” said Bob Metz, ASA president and a
soybean farmer from West Browns Valley, S.D. “The Paraguayans
realize that growing future demand in India is going to help all
of the Americas, not just the United States, and they were also
in agreement that it is time for North and South America to
begin identifying ways to share the cost of building demand for
soy products in India.”
U.S. grower-leaders have also discussed partnership activities
with growers in Brazil and Argentina. Several South American
farmer groups have expressed interest in supporting additional
collaborative efforts.
The Global Grower Development Agreement calls for activities
that will broadly promote the development and use of the soybean
complex, as a valuable commodity, which advances the interests
of its producers, processors, and users through product and
market development support. All vested parties agreed that
further discussions need to be held. Joint educational
activities are scheduled to occur as early as this fall.
For more information about the United States Soybean Export
Council (USSEC), contact ASA (www.soygrowers.com)
or USB (www.unitedsoybean.org).
The activities of the U.S. Soybean Export Council to expand
international markets for U.S. soybeans and soy products are
made possible by producer checkoff dollars invested by the
United Soybean Board and various State Soybean Councils, support
from cooperating industry, and through the American Soybean
Association’s investment of cost-share funding provided by
USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service. |