The Middle East and North Africa region is geographically closer to a competitor country, Ukraine, and as such, requires consistent attention to have U.S. corn and co-products, such as distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), remain top-of-mind for feed buyers. The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) staff made progress towards this goal last week by attending the Global Grain Middle East and North Africa conference in Dubai.
The event was attended by more than 140 participants from more than 20 countries in the region, offering programming to bring the industry together and facilitate networking.
“This was an excellent opportunity to meet with some of the majors importers in the MENA region,” said USGC Senior Director for Global Programs Cary Sifferath. “By building our connections among this group, we hope to increase the United States’ exports to this region.”
For September through March of this marketing year, the Middle East and North Africa region defined by USDA’s Global Agricultural Trade System has only imported 717,000 metric tons (28 million bushels) of U.S. corn valued at $128 million. This is down from the 2014/2015 marketing year at the same time when the region purchased 1.6 million tons (63 million bushels) of the commodity grain, valued at $293 million.
Sifferath traveled with a team to the region for the conference, during which they met with traders based in the United Arab Emirates, local importers and feed manufacturers.
While there, the USGC group was also able to discuss the Iranian feed and livestock market and examine Iran's import demand for feed grains with regional traders based in Dubai that are familiar with the market. Team members learned about the latest trade opportunities for U.S. feed grains with Iran, which was a unique opportunity given the lack of diplomatic relations between that country and the United States and the changes in sanctions.
“Iran is a large feed grains market with intense market dynamics,” Sifferath said. “To get a better understanding of the forces at work in the Iranian market and to build future partnerships with potential buyers, we started that process via discussions with regional players based in UAE. While our meetings may not result in immediate sales, over the long-term it may help to create a new pocket of demand for U.S. coarse grains and co-products.”
With the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Iran in early 2016, buyers and end-users have greater access to funds to purchase U.S. and other origin commodities. While the market previously had access to food and feed exports from the United States, they now have the ability to purchase more.
Still, other barriers exist for U.S. grain trade with Iran, as the trade of grains and other food and feed products need U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assists Control approval for shipment to Iran.
Click here to read past Global Update articles about the Middle East and North Africa region.