The new chairman of the U.S. Soybean Export Council says expanding global markets and diversifying demand will remain top priorities for the soybean industry. Claremont, South Dakota farmer Mike McCranie says the industry has been working for several years to broaden export opportunities beyond traditional buyers, especially after trade disruptions. “There are a lot of areas that we have a lot of competitive edges, like Central America and certain parts of South American countries like Colombia and, believe it or not, Venezuela.” McCranie says emerging demand in Southeast Asia, Europe, and parts of North Africa also provides opportunity as the soybean industry works to reduce reliance on a single export destination. He says progress is already being made as the U.S. expands its presence in other markets. “If you take China out of the equation, the U.S. has increased its market share by 40 percent in other diversified markets. We figure that if we can get 28 million metric tons out of the Chinese market, then we can pretty much handle the rest in other diversified countries.”
