The soy checkoff has long prioritized expanding international export markets. That hard work continues coming to fruition, with the imminent arrival of a shipment of U.S. soymeal to Uzbekistan.   

“This is a direct result of a three-year Uzbekistan soy market development effort by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC),” said Kim Nill, MSR&PC director of market development. “A total of six cargo containers of U.S. soymeal were recently sold to two buyer groups in Uzbekistan.”  

This marks the second shipment of soymeal to Uzbekistan since 2022 and comes on the heels of a trip four MSR&PC directors, including Director Patrick O’Leary, made to the country in March 2024.  O’Leary returned to Uzbekistan Aug. 6 alongside U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick and USDA Agricultural Attaché Lucas Blaustein to participate in several events preparing for the next steps in what MSR&PC hopes are successful trade relations on the horizon between the U.S. and Uzbekistan.  

O’Leary will participate in a roundtable commemorating the just-announced availability of USDA GSM-102 credit guarantees to Uzbekistan buyers, explaining how its use will make future sales of U.S. soymeal to Uzbekistan buyers even easier than the current shipments.    

“It’s really exciting to see the hard work and efforts that the Council has put into this become reality,” said O’Leary, who farms in Benson, Minn. “It’s also just exciting to see how well received we’ve been in Uzbekistan and the significant interest they have in U.S. soymeal.”  

With eyes on future trade potential, MSR&PC has signed commitments to help promote future shipments of soymeal to companies in Uzbekistan.  

“The soymeal market potential of Uzbekistan is estimated to be 1 million tons per year,” Nill said. “We hope to achieve that annual level soon.”