The U.S. Grains Council gathered more than 95 African feed industry representatives and American suppliers in Abidjan, Ivory Coast earlier this month for its third African Buyers and Sellers Conference, aiming to establish new trade relationships across the continent.
The two-day event featured educational sessions covering U.S. grain supply and demand, production techniques, and performance in poultry diets, alongside business-to-business meetings that generated negotiations for over 1,000 metric tons of distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn fermented protein.
"This event has been one of the highlights on the calendar for the African feed industry since it was first introduced and has significantly improved customer awareness of U.S. feed quality and availability," said Mohamed Salah Bouthour, USGC Deputy Regional Director for Africa. "Increased member engagement has also helped build trust in business relationships and sparked interest in additional commodities among buyers."
American participants included representatives from the Iowa Corn Growers Association, The Andersons, Cargill, CM Navigator and International Feed, who met directly with regional importers, feed manufacturers and end users.
The conference agenda included a tour of Abidjan Port, allowing U.S. participants to observe West African trade access and new port infrastructure expansion that promises improved handling speed for customers.
Technical presentations on the second day covered sorghum supply and demand, global freight logistics and updates on the Council's regional training programs in Africa.
To better understand local market conditions, the U.S. delegation also visited poultry and aquaculture farms to observe applications of feed grains and enhance their regional marketing strategies.
"We look forward to continuing to connect with top African feed importers by inviting them to additional conferences in the region and the U.S. to ensure American suppliers are the preferred choice to support Africa's growing population," Bouthour said.
