The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council’s (MSR&PC) long-term, global vision is paying off, as soy checkoff investments recently led to Uzbekistan purchasing 150 metric tons (MT) of U.S.-origin soymeal.
This marks the second shipment of soybean meal to Uzbekistan since 2022 and comes on the heels of a trip four MSR&PC directors, including Chair Tom Frisch, made to the country in March 2024.
“We heard some good things were happening in Uzbekistan, and when we went over there in 2022, we discovered that everything we had heard was true,” said Council Director Gene Stoel, who toured Uzbekistan with Frisch, Treasurer Ben Storm and Director Patrick O’Leary.
During the trade mission, Council leaders took part in numerous meetings with end users, and poultry and dairy farmers, driving forth the notion that there was no better time to purchase U.S. soybeans.
“Essentially the same night we met with them, they came up with a buyer’s group agreement,” said Kim Nill, MSR&PC director of market development. “The unusual timing of this sale is a true testament to the charisma and sales skills of our MSR&PC directors. U.S. soy exports are typically most competitive between July and December. We made this sale in April, which is typically the peak export season for places like South America.”
This latest shipment was made via a total of six cargo containers exported by Hansen-Mueller in Kansas City, Mo., and a Wisconsin soy exporter. The shipment is currently en route to its final destination in Uzbekistan.
“The shipment will be met by MSR&PC’s in-country staff, who will ensure its animal feeding performance is compared against the previously used feed ingredient,” Nill said. “Our farmers are pleased to be bringing them a superior product.”
MSR&PC believes this sale serves as another soy checkoff milestone in what’s becoming a strong relationship with Uzbekistan.
“We’re pretty proud of the product we grow out of Minnesota and the U.S. as a whole,” O’Leary told Soybean Business magazine in its most recent issue. “It’s a very consistent and high-quality soybean as compared to what they’ve had access to in Uzbekistan in the past.”
