Exploring U.S. Corn Exports To Saudi Arabia

Recently, U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) officers from its board of directors traveled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to meet with several major agribusinesses and producers about the potential for further U.S. corn, corn co-product and U.S. sorghum exports there.

USGBC Regional Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Ramy H. Taieb, USGBC Deputy Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Salah Bouthour and USGBC KSA Consultant Nabeel Salameh welcomed USGBC Chairman Mark Wilson; USGBC Vice Chairman Jay Reiners; USGBC Secretary-Treasurer Jay Fischer and USGBC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand to the mission.

“Officers’ missions are a critical part of both the Council’s market development strategies and its organizational structure, as potential customers highly value meeting with USGBC leaders and our officers gain valuable experience that help them engage even more closely with our work around the world,” LeGrand said.

The delegation began by meeting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA’s FAS) Agricultural Counselor based in KSA and his staff to align on strategies supporting the Saudi market and to identify future collaboration opportunities.

In Riyadh, the team met with the Arabian Agricultural Services Company (ARASCO), as well as MEFSCO, the country’s leading feed miller and starch producer and the largest corn importer, respectively. Discussions focused on how U.S.-origin corn can support ARASCO and MEFSCO’s operations.

The delegation also reviewed the Council’s ongoing market development activities and gained further insight into local market conditions, trade opportunities and future programming strategies aligned with KSA’s development plans through 2030.

The delegation visited the National Agricultural Development Company (NADEC), one of Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy producers with 110,000 head, to discuss opportunities for higher distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) inclusion in their feed rations.

While in Jeddah, the USGBC Officers toured a FeedCo facility, one of the largest feed mills in the country operating a specialized mill devoted to producing large animal rations and visited its new ruminant-focused production and storage facility. The visit provided a detailed overview of local demand, logistics and the operational requirements for importing U.S. corn, sorghum and corn co-products.

The mission concluded with a visit to the National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA), one of the world’s largest fully integrated desert-coastal aquaculture production operations. Discussions there highlighted the scale of Saudi Arabia’s seafood and shrimp production and its growing feed needs.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a developed market that continues to invest in strengthening its agricultural production and supply chains. The Council has been and will continue to be a committed partner in helping Saudi companies source U.S. feed grains and co-products to facilitate further growth in the country’s livestock and aquaculture sectors,” Wilson said.

“The country’s overall imports for input materials will continue to grow and we expect U.S. corn and corn-coproducts to be a significant aspect of that expansion in the coming years.”

Tags: exports, corn, sorghum, U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia