A tweet from Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Blairo Maggi late yesterday afternoon informed the world that Brazil’s foreign trade chamber has approved a 20 percent tariff on U.S. ethanol imports after a 600 million liter tariff rate quota. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and Growth Energy issued a joint statement on the decision. …
Moving More Ethanol Exports
U.S. ethanol exports are setting records this year and that is due at least in part to the efforts of the U.S. Grains Council ethanol advisory team, chaired this year by Jim Glavin, CEO of Lakeview Energy. Galvin spoke at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual conference last week in Omaha about some of the global headwinds and tailwinds …
Iowa Farmer is 1st Woman to Chair USGC
Iowa farmer Deb Keller was elected as U.S. Grains Council (USGC) chairman at the organization’s 57th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Vancouver, Washington earlier this month. She is the first female selected for the role in the organization’s nearly 60 year history. Keller’s experience as a strong advocate for trade will amplify the Council’s mission of developing markets, enabling …
Nebraska Governor Praises Grain Trade with Mexico
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts asked grain industry officials from Mexico and the United States join him Tuesday for a press conference to highlight the importance of Mexico to U.S. agriculture and how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has benefited both countries. “Bilateral trade with Mexico has helped grow agriculture in our state over the years,” said Governor Ricketts. …
Addressing Sustainability with International Buyers
Addressing the issue of sustainability with international buyers of U.S. grains at the Export Exchange 2016 was Field to Market data and technology director Paul Hishmeh. Field to Market focuses on quantifiable sustainability in agriculture and Hishmeh brought an overview of what that looks like to the conference, which is co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the Renewable …
Megatrends Offer Agribusiness Opportunities
A number of global megatrends can mean new opportunities for agribusiness moving forward, according to Chris Nolan with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), who gave the keynote address this week at the 2016 Export Exchange co-sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the U.S. Grains Council. Nolan identified five global megatrends – demographic shifts, global economic power shifts, accelerating urbanization, resource scarcity, …
Event Seeks to Boost Exports
Hundreds of buyers and sellers of U.S. coarse grains and ethanol co-products have arrived in Detroit for Export Exchange 2016 and even though they are from more than 30 countries they are busy making connections and building relationships. The event, which has been held every two years since 2010, is co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the Renewable …
China Opens DDGS Anti-Dumping Investigation
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has initiated, again, an anti-dumping countervailing duty investigations into U.S. produced distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) exported to the country. This is not the first time that China has been down this road. Back in 2011 China began an investigation into DDGs but then in 2012, they dropped it. Now, in 2015, they have …
Grains Council Confirms Good Quality Corn Crop
The U.S. corn crop was generally good, according to a new report from the U.S. Grains Council (USGC). This news release from the National Corn Growers Association, a founding member of the council, says the USGC’s 2015/2016 Corn Harvest Quality Report found 94 percent of corn samples samples rated at quality grade No. 2 or better. “This is the fifth …
Grains Council Chair Stresses Excellence in Exports
Nebraska farmer Alan Tiemann was recently elected chairman of the U.S. Grains Council and he is excited about the work they are doing to expand exports of ethanol and the co-product Distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) used for livestock feed. “For this coming year, my theme is ‘Excellence in Exports,’” said Tiemann during an interview after his address to …