The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) hosted Dr. Jerry Shurson, swine nutritionist with the University of Minnesota, in South Korea last month to provide expert consultation on the economic and nutritional benefits of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in animal feeds to feed formulators and nutritionists in one of the world’s largest and most competitive feed markets.
Shurson answered technical questions about the use of U.S. DDGS, including how to accurately determine digestible amino acid content and the maximum recommended inclusion rates in diets for each species and stage of production.
“The regional seminars and one-on-one company consultations were useful for providing a broad overview and creating awareness of DDGS in swine and poultry diets for diverse audiences consisting of nutritionists, researchers, traders and feed formulators,” says Haksoo Kim, USGC director in South Korea, who also participated in the consultations along with Youngjin Lee, USGC administrative manager.
Following significant work by USGC to introduce and advocate for it in South Korea, DDGS is now considered an established and superior feed ingredient there, with 96% of local feed producers using it in their rations.
Growth in the South Korean livestock and corn processing industries has meant the country's demand for coarse grains and co-products has increased continuously and is expected to grow steadily in the future.
South Korea currently ranks as the second largest market for U.S. DDGS in the current marketing year (September 2017-March 2018), purchasing 639,000 tons, a 6% increase year-over-year. South Korea was the third largest market for U.S. DDGS in 2016/2017, setting a new record for the fifth year in a row at 979,000 tons.
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