Libya recently purchased its first shipment of U.S. distiller抯 dried grains with solubles (DDGS), representing the most recent North African country in the Mediterranean region to buy the co-product.
The receiver, Essahel Lakhdar Feed Mill, has approximately 20-25 percent share in the Libyan feed market. The company will conduct feeding trials in ruminant and poultry feeds using the DDGS, which is expected to arrive in Tripoli mid-September.
?he U.S. Grains Council has been in discussions with various Libyan importers for the past year, providing them with technical information on DDGS and encouraging them to look for import opportunities,?said Kurt Shultz, USGC director of the Mediterranean and Africa. According to USGC Senior Director of International Operations for Rest of the World Chris Corry, Libya? purchase of U.S. DDGS followed positive experiences with the co-product in neighboring countries that also successfully conducted feeding trials.
?he import is based on the successful use of U.S. DDGS by Egyptian and Tunisian feed millers and will allow the Council to accelerate its DDGS promotion activities in the region,?Corry said. According to Shultz, the Libyan livestock sector is considered underdeveloped and inefficient due to decades of international sanctions and isolation. This has changed recently due to new private sector investments and expansion of the sector.
The country started importing U.S. corn in 2005 after sanctions were removed. In 2007, Libya imported approximately 600,000 metric tons (24 million bushels) of corn of which 200,000 tons (7.8 million bushels) came from the United States. In an effort to further connect with potential international customers, the U.S. Grains Council will host a DDGS conference and trade show Oct. 19-21 in Indianapolis, Ind. in cooperation with BBI International. Marwan Gaddad from Essahel Lakhdar feed mill will be attend the conference along with more than 140 other international buyers.
