WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A strong dollar and consequent high U.S. corn prices have hurt the U.S. Grains Council’s attempts to rebuild the country’s share of corn exports, leaving it to promote American grain through reliability and flexibility.
“All we can do is be present in the marketplace,” Thomas Sleight, president and chief executive of the U.S. Grains Council, said in an interview.
U.S. farmers boosted corn production to a record 14.2 billion bushels after it fell to 10.8 billion bushels in 2012. But exports, lost that year when drought slashed supplies, have stalled as the dollar has soared to its highest in more than a decade.
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U.S. corn export volumes will fall 117 million bushels to 1.8 billion in the 2014-15 marketing year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
That will pull down the U.S. market share of corn exports to 39.1 percent from 67 percent 10 years ago, the last time that domestic ending stocks were bigger than the 1.777 billion bushels expected this year.
The Grains Council, which develops export markets for U.S. corn, barley, sorghum and related products, is working to reverse that trend, staffing offices around the world to highlight the benefits of U.S. supplies.
“We are the boots on the ground,” Sleight said. “People like to buy from someone they know. We want to be that person they know.”
The Grains Council also touts the advantage the United States holds in port infrastructure with its modern equipment and easy access points for barges, trains and trucks as well as the reliability of its deliveries.
Both of those factors mitigate the price differential between supplies from the United States and countries like Ukraine, Brazil or Argentina.
“We can meet the customers’ needs whenever they have them,” Sleight said.
The Grains Council also advises potential buyers on the best times to step into the U.S. market, contacting customers to point out fluctuations in futures prices that may provide the best opportunity to book deals.
There have been signs of progress. In Egypt, a recent Grains Council presentation drew 85 potential customers, up from just eight two years ago, Sleight said.
New markets are another key for growing exports.
The Grains Council is hoping that it can help the United States win the lion’s share of demand from Cuba if export restrictions are loosened. Cuba’s proximity to the United States would cut shipping costs for importers there.
