The U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) has been conducting an ongoing regional dairy development program in Southeast Asia & Oceania, with an emphasis on technical on-farm servicing, and USGBC Regional Marketing Manager for Southeast Asia & Oceania (SEA&O) Rowena Ngumbang recently traveled to Malaysia and the Philippines to evaluate the progress of these programs.
Ngumbang visited seven farms interested in using U.S. coarse grain products, especially distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and corn fermented protein (CFP).
“The Council is committed to its regional dairy development programs that include the implementation of continuous seminars, on-site technical visits and hands-on training to support dairy growth in SEA, particularly Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines,” Ngumbang said.
“With large and still-growing populations, the dairy industries in these countries are looking to expand and by offering initial support to streamline greater production, the Council will establish U.S. feed grains as the preferred choice that end-users demand in the region.”
On her two-week stint across the region, Ngumbang was joined by two dairy industry consultants who studied the farms to help devise a plan for the Council’s targeted promotional strategies in the short- to mid-term.
Visits across the Philippines and Malaysia included meetings with commercial dairies to discuss feeding trials with U.S. DDGS and CFP and how to overcome logistics constraints associated with including higher levels of DDGS and CFP in their current feed formulas.
“Our dairy programs also compliment U.S. processed dairy export programs in the region. As higher quality local fresh milk becomes more available, consumers increase their demand for high-value cheeses and milk products from the U.S.,” Ngumbang said. “We are very excited for the growth in the sector overall.”