Recently, the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) held the Southeast Asia U.S. Agricultural Cooperators Conference (ACC) in Bangkok, Thailand in partnership with the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), bringing together the U.S. agricultural value chain and its partners across the Asia Pacific.
Under the theme “Building Trusted Partnerships, Delivering Value and Reliability,” this year’s edition underscored the enduring importance of trust, consistency and performance in global agricultural trade.
“At a time of evolving market dynamics, regulatory complexity and heightened focus on supply chain resilience, this gathering reaffirmed U.S. commitment to being a reliable, long-term partner to Southeast Asia’s food and feed industries,” said Mark Wilson, USGBC Chairman.
“Participants directly engaged with U.S. farmers, exporters, analysts and policy experts to exchange views on market access, logistics and sustainability, shaping the future of food and protein supply between the U.S. and Southeast Asia.”
Wilson attended the event along with USGBC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand, USGBC Regional Director for Southeast Asia & Oceania (SEA&O) Caleb Wurth, USGBC Deputy Regional Director for SEA&O Chris Markey and their regional team. USGBC Director for China Manuel Sanchez; USGBC Director for India Reece Cannady; USGBC Director for South Korea Haksoo Kim; and USGBC Director for Taiwan Michael Lu also brought customer delegations. USGBC state members were well represented, including delegates from the Iowa Corn Growers Association, the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program.
The conference began with a roundtable discussion featuring U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Sean O’Neill, who welcomed the cooperators to the country and offered an overview of factors impacting agricultural trade in Thailand.
Leaders from the organizing parties, including LeGrand and USSEC CEO Jim Sutter, then spoke about the market dynamics for the commodities they represent and the importance of building business relationships by delivering consistent value and reliability to customers.
Later that day, U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) officers based around the region shared their insights and experiences on evolving market demands.
The final day of the event included a panel discussion highlighting U.S. farmers and their perspectives on production and sustainability to reinforce the quality of U.S. feed grains.
Both days culminated in structured business-to-business sessions connecting more than 200 meetings between U.S. suppliers to international importers. Sales data resulting from these meetings will be tallied and released in a future Global Update edition.
“ACC is an annual connection showcasing U.S. agriculture’s longstanding and deeply valuable relationship in Asia that has been built over decades of trust and mutual benefit, and the Council remains committed to supporting the region’s growth, food security and resiliency goals,” Wurth said.
Learn more about the Council’s work in Southeast Asia and Oceania here.