As Export Exchange 2016 gets closer, more delegations are announcing their attendance. The latest is Japan, eight Japanese grain importers will participate in trade teams as part of the exchange.

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The event is Oct. 24 to 26 in Detroit, Michigan, sponsored by USGC and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). This year’s conference is slated to be the largest on record with more than 215 buyers and end-users from more than 35 countries organized into 19 USGC trade teams.

Related: Export Exchange planned for Detroit

One trade team will be made up of members of the Japanese feed industry with a particular interest in corn, distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and sorghum for feed use. (Photo: darcy maulsby/Thinkstock)

Representatives from several countries in East Asia will be in attendance, including two teams from Japan filled with long-time U.S. commodity customers.

One team will be made up of members of the Japanese feed industry with a particular interest in corn, distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and sorghum for feed use. A second team will include representatives from food corn companies, including corn wet millers manufacturing corn starch and sweetener products and a dry miller manufacturing corn grits and flour for food products.

With a population of 127 million and a thriving agricultural sector, Japan leads the way in imports of U.S. corn, sorghum and barley as well as co-products featured at the Export Exchange event.

“This buyers coming on this year’s Japan teams are interested in learning more about all U.S. grains and their co-products,” said Tommy Hamamoto, director of the USGC office in Japan. “Increased promotion of ethanol and U.S. quality standards in Japan is expected to expand market opportunities as customers look for ways to improve food and fuel production.”

The Council works to increase demand for feed grains and related products among feed millers, regulators and other end-users in Japan and conducts programming that focuses on export promotion and customer knowledge of U.S. quality standards.

Related: Export Exchange hosts grain buyers from Taiwan

Export Exchange allows attendees to do business and form relationships with buyers in person and in one location. These two factors make the event a highly successful contributor to feed grain sales, with 2014 Export Exchange participants reporting sales of more than $900 million during the conference.

Source: US Grains Council