USGC reports boost in sorghum sales to Colombia

Colombia imported 23,000 metric tons of United States sorghum in October, approximately 905,464 bushels, which is almost their entire tariff rate quota.

The timing of the spike in sorghum importing, which had been at a standstill in recent years, could not be more perfect for the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) as they sent a team of United States sorghum producers to Colombia and Peru for presentations on the 2015/2016 Sorghum Early Harvest Quality Report this week.

"Price and availability remain the main drivers for the possibility of importing U.S. sorghum into Latin America," said USGC Regional Director of the Western Hemisphere Marri Carrow. "However, Peru and Colombia have the wherewithal and ability to import sorghum from the United States at any moment. To remind importers of the benefits of the product and to answer any questions regarding the procurement or use of the product, the Council bought this team of U.S. sorghum producers, a merchandiser and a nutritionist to the region."

The team, which included Carrow, Barry Evans of Texas Sorghum Grain Producers; Kathy Brorman of Texas Sorghum Grain Producers; Miguel Davalos of Attebury Grain LLC; Carlos Lopez Coello of National Autonomous University of Mexico; and USGC Manager of Global Programs Heidi Bringenberg, met with key importers and end-users in Colombia and Peru.

"Our meetings were very fruitful as the buyers and end-users appreciated being presented with such timely, reliable and transparent information," Carrow said. "They asked numerous questions about U.S. planting intentions for next year, the market outlook and purchasing power. After addressing these questions, the buyers and end-users left the meetings with a greater confidence in the United States' ability to meet their demand for high-quality sorghum."

A key goal of the trip was to reassure importers in the region that sorghum crops were healthy; to provide knowledge to buyers of the marketing channels for U.S. sorghum; and to teach a region with little local experience in formulating feed rations with sorghum.