Members of the U.S. Grains Council’s Advisory Teams met this past week at the organization’s International Marketing Conference in Panama City, Panama, to set direction and priorities for the council’s global activities.
Attendees had a firsthand look at the new Panama Canal expansion.
“When USGC last met in Panama, the canal expansion was only a construction site,” Chip Councell, USGC chairman and a grain farmer in Maryland, said in a news release from the group. “Visiting the new locks reflects the long-term commitment of the Council and its members to enable more and expanded trade opportunities for American agriculture.”
Before the tour, meeting attendees in a general session were welcomed to the region by USGC Western Hemisphere Regional Director Marri Carrow and Erik Hansen, agricultural counselor at the U.S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica.
They also witnessed Councell and Manuel Benitez, Panama Canal deputy administrator, sign a formal memorandum of understanding between the two organizations on the importance of the Panama Canal to U.S. grain trade.
Benitez offered the farmers, agribusiness representatives and others in the audience an extensive briefing on the Panama Canal expansion, which opened on June 30, 2016.
Sixty-nine percent of all cargo traveling through the Panama Canal originates from or is destined for the United States, including roughly one-third of total U.S. grain exports, Benitez told the crowd. The new set of locks will open opportunities for larger and more efficient shipments of all products.
“As market opportunities constantly ebb and flow, so must USGC continuously adjust our activities to maintain our long-term global trading partners and meet increasing demand in developing markets,” Chip Councell, said.
The committees met to discuss issues of importance in each region and on major topics including ethanol, innovation and sustainability, trade policy and value-added products.
The council delegates also met Feb. 14 in sector-specific groups, for corn, barley and sorghum producers as well as agribusinesses and general farm organizations.
The input from the teams and council’s international staff will form the backbone of the council’s Unified Export Strategy (UES), the operational blueprint and long-term planning document used to apply for USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) market development and export promotion programs, including the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program.
“Roughly one third of U.S. grain exports travel through the Panama Canal,” said Tom Sleight, USGC president and CEO. “We appreciate the working relationship between the Panama Canal Authority and U.S. grain exporters that make it possible for our producers to reliably meet the world’s increasing demand for food, feed and fuel.”