SSGA joins first ever USDA Netherlands trade mission

The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance is constantly looking for opportunities to promote its members’ companies, expand exports of their high-quality products and familiarize the world with the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand program. So, the opportunity to go to the Netherlands and be part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission there could not be passed up.

Last week, Manager of Strategic Programs Shane Frederick attended the trade mission in Amsterdam, an experience that included opportunities to engage with Dutch businesses, receive market briefings from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and industry trade experts and participate in site visits, including the largest seaport in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam.

The U.S. delegation was led by USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor and included representatives from 41 agribusinesses and farm organizations and 10 state departments of agriculture looking to expand economic partnerships between the United States and the Netherlands and markets throughout Scandinavia. The trip marked the USDA’s first-ever agribusiness trade mission to the Netherlands.

Frederick participated in the business-to-business meetings and sat down with commodity brokers, food and food ingredient importers and port logistics service representatives. He also made connections with USDA FAS staff, state and regional trade group officials, and ag department representatives from California, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, among others; networked with agribusinesses from throughout the United States; and was part of roundtable discussion with ag cooperator and advocacy groups led by Under Secretary Taylor.

“This was an opportunity to go to the Netherlands and the European Union, learn about their markets and tell our own story about identity preserved and specialty field crops available in the United States, as well as the U.S. Identity Preserved assurance plan and brand mark program,” Frederick said. “It was an opportunity to talk about the work SSGA and its members are doing, see how those efforts fits in to U.S. trade strategy and compare notes with other groups and companies.”

The Netherlands is the United States’ ninth-largest export market for agriculture and also the world’s second-largest ag exporter after the United States. In 2022, combined total agricultural and related exports to the Netherlands and the region topped $4.5 billion.

Consumer trends there include a growing interest in what they’re eating and where that food comes from and a willingness and ability to pay for healthy and nutritious foods. Their younger populations are open-minded about new concepts, products and flavors, and there’s a strong market for plant-based and sustainably certified products.

Frederick will be participating in the USDA’s trade mission to Japan this June. Feel free to contact him for more information.

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