The move was in recognition of the valuable buyer-seller relationship the United States has with South Korea, because the country produces less than three per cent of the total domestic demand and has historically been the world's second or third largest feed grain import market.
"In regards to US supply and demand outlooks, there was some concern over the smaller October 2010 crop size," said Joseph Kapraun of GROWMARK Inc.
"I emphasised to the audience that while the crop size was below US producers' expectations, it was still the third-largest crop we've ever produced. Also, the 2010 crop is of much better quality than the 2008/2009 crop, in part due to less stress cracks," he said.
Sol Kim of TransCoastal Supply Co. Inc., discussed with seminar participants how to price DDGS as there was interest among attendees in how to properly do so.
"DDGS is a CBOT traded commodity, but it's not really being utilized yet," Kim said.
"It's still primarily a flat priced commodity, and it doesn't always follow the trends of other ag commodities; so we discussed some of the factors that can affect the price of cost and freight of DDGS as well as China's voracious demand for the product."
By participating in such seminars, the council aims to strengthen confidence in US corn and feed grains among one of its most important international clients.
It also hopes its involvement in such meetings will promote the U.S. advantage and influence customers when making feed grain buying decisions.
"I told the group that Korean feed grains demand is very important to us, and I shared how much we've appreciated their business," Kapraun said.
"I also conveyed to them that we look forward to being their long-term supply partners."
source: APEC-VC Korea
