USGC focuses on pushing grain exports

The US Grains Council (USGC) is overseeing several programmes to improve US export markets as global coarse grain production reaches record levels.

In Colombia, plans focus on the urgency to ratify the pending free trade agreement (FTA) with the US. The Council is educating government officials in Washington, DC, on the tremendous loss of US feed grain sales due to the absence of an FTA with Colombia. As no FTA between the US and Colombia exists, US farmers lost US$3.14 million in corn sales last year, US Grains Council estimates.

Another market of concentration is Morocco where the Council is working to educate buyers on alternative methods of buying corn and sorghum. This includes using the free on board (FOB) purchasing system rather than the currently implemented cash and freight (C&F) method.

USDA's latest World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report from May 11 shows that US agriculture exports are projected to grow 3% for the 2010/2011 marketing year.