USDBC Delegates
meet with
Colombian & Peruvian Buyers
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During a USDBC November 9-13, 2020 “virtual” trade mission, five delegates held Zoom meetings with ten importers in Colombia and four importers in Peru. While not a replacement for in-person meetings and the in-depth fact-finding that takes place during trade missions, the on-line sessions gave insights into market conditions, strengthened relationships, and resulted in a half dozen trade leads. Importers welcomed the information about the US harvest and bean types and had positive views of in terms of quality, consistency, relationships with US suppliers, and USDBC promotions and technical support.
Colombian importers reported that (1) they bought black, LRKBs and cranberry beans from Argentina this summer; (2) domestic summer harvests were good and the highly favored cargamento rojo bean is very low priced, which lowers the prices for other bean types and reduces import demand; (3) the outlook for the December-January harvests is promising; and (4) January would be a good time to check for buying interest. Trade leads were sent for companies that were seeking beans for delivery in the next couple months. Dry bean demand was higher April through July as people increased purchases for home consumption due to pandemic-related movement restrictions.
In Peru, demand for beans increased since the start of the pandemic particularly since the government increased purchases for food assistance. Canario/mayocoba beans are most popular and the country regularly requires imports, relying mainly on Mexico and buying from the US and Canada as well. The top product supplied by the US continues to be navy beans, which are mainly sold to the government. While Argentina and Bolivia are regional suppliers of black beans and DRKBs, the US can also be a source.
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1st image of 2:
Zoom meeting with Humberto Barragan, Su Despensa, Colombia
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2nd image of 2:
Zoom meeting with Peter Santis, Frutas y Especias, Peru
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USDBC AND IICA DISCUSS WAYS TO COLLABORATE |
Over the past months USDBC, along with other U.S. agricultural trade groups has been invited to participate in meetings with IICA, the InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, based in San Jose, Costa Rica. IICA seeks to cultivate an Inter-American System that supports the efforts of Member States to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being. There are 34 member states including the U.S. Recently IICA has been looking to strengthen partnerships with U.S. agricultural trade groups in areas of mutual interest including agricultural development, nutritional enhancement, and promoting the benefits of the DR/CAFTA trade agreement. Following up on a general meeting with the U.S. agricultural trade community, USDBC reached out to IICA to further determine possible areas for future engagement. Earlier this month, USDBC Americas Representative, Alejandro Leloir met with IICA General Director Manuel Otero, Deputy Director Lloyd Day and a team of technical specialists at IICA’s Headquarters in Costa Rica. The meeting focused on the need for global phytosanitary measures such as MRLs, to abide by science based protocols, food security for Latin America, and improved nutritional guidelines for local diets, which could include the need for greater consumption of beans. Follow up discussions are planned to identify specific projects and areas for collaboration. IICA is an important ally for sound trade and nutritional policy in the Americas region, more to come. |
Meetings in the Covid era:
USDBC Americas Rep Alejandro Leloir (second from left) with IICA leadership in San Jose, Costa Rica.
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USDBC HARVEST WEBINARS
SET TO ROLL ON NOVEMBER 23 AND 24 2020
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The need to share production and quality detail from our annual dry bean harvest with international buyers is a critical part of our global marketing plan. Knowing that we were not going to be able to host our annual reverse trade mission this year, we made alternate plans. Earlier this fall we sent film crews out to visit with various growers and dealers across U.S. dry bean country to film harvest 2020. This became even more critical after weather events had an adverse impact on last year’s harvest that was reflected in supply and prices. Many of our global buyers have been anxiously awaiting information on this year’s excellent harvest and we have been eager to share the details. As such our first Dry Bean Harvest Webinars will take place on November 23 and 24 featuring video footage from harvest and commentary from industry representatives in our principal dry bean growing regions. The seminar will be repeated to accommodate the different time zones of our global buyers with the Asian audience in attendance on November 23 and the rest of the world on November 24. We are reserving the limited slots for our global buyers but we have extra capacity for the webinar on the 23 rd. if you are interested please register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpde2opz8pH91ReCUjbuLdgNHT7Uoa6097. We will also be sharing an abbreviated harvest video with the industry after the webinar itself. |
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GEARING UP FOR SABOR USA CHILE
VIRTUAL TRADE SHOW
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In 2019, USDBC conducted a market analysis to identify opportunities in Chile for the U.S. dry bean industry. Chile is of interest as a bean consuming nation with a stable economy, and a country where U.S. agricultural exports enjoy preferential market access under the terms of a Free Trade Agreement signed in 2004. It is also a market where we face regional competition and will need to enhance our market presence and awareness campaign. Chile has a modern and developed food processing industry that represents 25 percent of Chile´s economy, and is forecast to grow to more than 35 percent by 2030. As such, we will be participating in the Sabor USA Chile Virtual Trade Event on December 2, 2020. SaborUSA Chile will provide a unique opportunity for U.S. exporters of food ingredients and products to expand into the Chilean market. The event will give us the opportunity to connect one-on-one with potential buyers through virtual business-to-business (B2B) meetings set up in advance and will allow us a virtual forum to display our materials and information. We feel that Chile is a solid market prospect for U.S. dry bean exports and we will continue to explore these opportunities in 2021. If you would like to attend as part of the USDBC delegation please contact Jose Barrios Turk, [email protected]
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Getting to know your reps - CHINA |
Xu came on board in 2019 to help USDBC both monitor Chinese dry bean production and develop a market presence in China. He is President and CEO of WG Consulting, Ltd., a Shanghai based consulting firm specializing in marketing and market access for various agricultural products and services, particularly from the U.S.
Prior to establishing WG Consulting in 2010, Xu was the Chief Representative of the American Forest & Paper Association, the U.S. trade association for the wood products industry, China Office. He currently works with a number of U.S. based state and agricultural promotion initiatives. Xu has a degree in structural engineering from Tongji University, China.
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December 6 - 12, 2020 Virtual
Central America Trade Mission
Was originally set for December 9 - 11, 2020
(Due to COVID19, rescheduled to September 7 - 9 of 2022)
February 21 - 25, 2021
March 2 - 4, 2021/March 3 - 5, 2021 (Virtual Event)
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