LUBBOCK - Bruce Wetzel, a Sherman, Texas, corn farmer and Texas Corn Producers director, joins the U.S. Grains Council for a tour of the three most prominent Asian markets – Japan, China and Vietnam. The Asian Leadership Mission began Nov. 29 and will last through Dec. 9.
The mission is designed to spark two-way learning by providing firsthand exposure to the dynamics and defense of export markets, as well as allowing U.S. grain growers to share their experiences with customers from across the world.
“This mission is a good opportunity to meet with our international customers,” Wetzel said. “It is also beneficial to meet with key foreign government officials to share on-the-ground insights about the 2011 U.S. corn crop supply and quality.”
Mission participants will learn the different uses for corn in the Asian markets, including livestock feeding and starch processing to foods like the newly introduced ramen noodles, which contain 20 percent corn content.
In addition to learning the different uses of corn throughout Asia, the U.S. corn growers will get the chance to tour different ports. Mission members will learn the impacts infrastructure has on corn and corn products shipped to Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, China’s Pearl River delta and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.
Wetzel shares this international experience with nine other representatives from corn organizations across the nation. The states in attendance represent more than 62 percent of total U.S. corn production.
“Overall, we have learned so much about the Asian market corn exports, and we hope to share our knowledge with each organization we represented,” Wetzel said.