January 28, 2008

 

US looks to develop markets for corn and DDGS in Japan and India

 

 

The US Grains Council is hoping that change is one thing Japan and India would be able to latch on as it launches its new programmes.

 

In a news release, the organisation said earlier efforts has resulted in a sharp increase in imports of US DDGS from Japan and the council is working to win over India's poultry industry as rising poultry consumption would likely lead to corn imports from the US in future.

 

The organisation is currently assisting India's growing commercial poultry processing industry with their strategic consumer marketing efforts.

 

Traditionally, Indian consumers purchase live poultry because supermarkets or grocery stores were uncommon, but things are changing as the country evolves to a grocery store environment not unlike those seen in the US, said Chris Corry, USGC director of international operations.

 

He added that the shift is due ultimately to a growing population.

 

''India is the second-largest country in terms of population in the world. The population also includes a growing middleclass, Corry added.

 

India is Asia's third largest economy, behind Japan and China, in which agriculture accounts for 18 percent of GDP.

 

The USGC is helping poultry farm more profitable through assistance and consumer marketing efforts, Amit Sachdev, USGC consultant in India said.

 

The Council's efforts on behalf of the commercial poultry industry will become increasingly important to Indian poultry farmers as demand for poultry meat and eggs is expected to rise with the expanding population.

 

As consumers become more educated about the safety and efficiency of commercial poultry processing, which has until now been a relatively new concept to most Indian consumers, the poultry industry will  grow substantially. This would mean that India would need more feed grains, primarily corn.

 

''India only produces roughly 600 million bushels of corn annually, which is not enough to sustain a growing population, especially with rising meat and  egg consumption, said Corry. ''There is no doubt, they (India) will have to import feed ingredients from somewhere, and we are working hard to ensure it will be from U.S. producers.''

 

Sachdev agrees with Corry and said he is anticipating that the Council's education efforts will pay off for US farmers,

 

''We are hopeful that our relationships in India and hands-on work there will ultimately lead to India once again buying U.S. feed grains.''

 

Exports to India was halted in 2002 as a 15-percent import duty made it impractical for importers to buy US grains.

 

Meanwhile, in Japan, the USGC announced dried grains with solubles (DDGS) exports to Japan has soared to 98,000 tonnes in the  first eleven months of 2007.

 

The increase can be attributed to rising feed prices, said Cary Sifferath, USGC senior director in Tokyo.

 

In 2004, US DDGS exports to Japan were recorded at 3,074 tonnes and the year before that, they were non-existant.

 

However, Sifferath said there is still a long way to go as DDGS constitute only a fraction of Japan's total feed ingredients.

 

Japan uses 24 million tonnes of animal feeds each year, meaning that DDGS only constitute 0.4 percent of feed-use.

The USGC has been active in introducing the proper use of DDGS in dairy, layer, swine and now broiler rations in Japan and these helped open the doors for U.S. DDGS to enter the Japanese market.

 

For example, the USGC organized a DDGS feeding trial in broilers last year to educate Japanese buyers on the benefits of US DDGS.