SSGA advises Philippines DDGS delegation on transportation

Fifteen poultry and livestock feed importer buyers from the Philippines learned about the current trends in container and bulk grain shipping, along with opportunities to purchase U.S. dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), high-quality feed products produced by ethanol plants and exported around the world. Part of a trade mission to the Upper Midwest Aug. 28–Sept. 3, the delegation was hosted by Northern Crops Institute (NCI) and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC). The experience featured an educational procurement course on DDGS feeding practices, an industry tour and information on market sourcing and current transportation issues.

SSGA contributed to the trade promotion project through a presentation and discussion led by transportation adviser Bruce Abbe. Abbe talked about current trends and gave “how-to” advice for shipping DDGS from the U.S. to the Philippines by container or bulk shipping means. SSGA exporter member International Feed also hosted the group on a tour stop for trade discussions.

The delegation included high-level executives from leading Philippines commodity feed purchasing companies, including UNAHco Inc., CJ Phils Inc., Premium Feeds Corporation, SIDC, Universal Robina Corp-Cebu Operations, Ta-Ala Farms, Robina, Longview Agri, and Universal Felix Grains Corp.

Abbe presented information on the DDGS export market dynamics and recent trends for container and bulk shipping, basic operational steps in container shipping for DDGS supply chains, and the current situation and outlook going into 2023 for shipping.

“After two years of crippling supply chain disruptions at the ports and landside on both sides of the Pacific, we’re starting to see some improvements,” Abbe said. “But we have a long way to go. …

“On-time reliability for ocean carriers has basically stood at zero for a year and a half for all carriers. It’s starting to inch up. Instead of 100 ships waiting to berth off LA/Long Beach, it was down to nine a couple of days ago. Yet, the East Coast ports are seeing more back-ups now.”

There are signs that rates are starting to soften for U.S. importers, who saw extraordinary increases. But for exporters, the smaller increases they’ve experienced haven’t come down much yet, if at all. Container availability for exports is showing signs of improvement in some locations, not others, he said.

The future should be getting better for shippers because of the large volume of new container ships and new containers on order set to come into the global system in 2023 and 2024, Abbe added.

“Nevertheless, the ocean carriers have already started to cancel sailings again, and they learned they could make unmatched profits through high rates by keeping capacity tight,” Abbe warned. “The rail network in the U.S. also is currently facing severe capacity and network congestion issues.”

In spite of those challenges, U.S. grain exporters can and are supplying high-quality DDGS to the Philippines feed industry on a continual, near-daily basis. With infrastructure improvements underway in both countries, supply chain improvements are happening.

To manage the shipping challenges, Abbe urged the grain buyers and traders to:

• Persistently check all booking options
• Be sure to check bulk shipping, as well as containers, as bulk may be more economical;
• Know expected transit times and track all container shipments
• Maintain continual communication between suppliers and buyers

SSGA and other U.S. ag shippers will continue to pressure the transportation industry, policy makers and regulators for expanded, improved service for food and agriculture shipping. International buyers should to the same in their countries, Abbe advised.