Agricultural News
US Grains Council, Illinois Corn Marketing Board Promote U.S.-Origin Corn Through Starch Program In Egypt
Fri, 18 Mar 2022 08:48:54 CDT
To grow U.S. corn and corn co-product exports to Egypt, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), with the help of Dr. Vijay Singh, professor and executive director of Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, has been working closely with a major Egyptian importer to improve its operations and plant profitability.
In early March, Dr. Singh, along with Dr. Kyle Gilliam, USGC manager of global strategies and trade, and Collin Watters of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, traveled to Egypt to meet one-on-one with the importer and help create a better understanding of the technology and science associated with wet milling U.S.-origin corn. While there, they also shared U.S. corn wet milling data compared to corn of other origins, including Brazil and Argentina.
The group toured two wet milling plants while in Egypt, observing that both continue to improve their wet milling processes. Steeping profiles, total product recovery and residual starch in fiber had greatly improved from the last audit.
"We have seen a great commitment from our partners in Egypt to improve their wet milling processes. This vital relationship has helped to increase the production capacity of Egyptian wet mills, achieve the high yields available in U.S. corn and start to build a preference for U.S. corn," Gilliam said.
The project, funded by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, has spanned several years. In 2019, Dr. Singh first visited with the Egyptian importer, evaluating its industrial starch plants' operations and assisting in identifying areas for improvement in profitability and overall operations.
Following the release of the Council's Industrial Corn Starch Study in 2020, Dr. Singh audited the importer's wet milling facilities in 2021, providing feedback and training on increasing starch yields from the corn processed by the facility.
"The analysis that was funded by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board reinforces the fact that U.S. corn has a much greater value to wet millers over other origins," Watters said. "This project is so exciting because it clearly demonstrates that wet millers around the world can achieve higher profitability simply by making some small handling changes and buying U.S. corn. We are confident that once wet millers maximize the benefits of utilizing U.S. corn, they'll be customers of ours for a long time."
The Council sees follow-up visits and meetings with major importers in Egypt as an essential step in entering the Egyptian market while creating growth in exports of U.S. corn and corn co-products.
Learn more about the US Grain Council's work in Egypt.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
