South Korean Trade Team Visits U.S. Barley Value Chain

Recently, the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) led a team of South Korean food barley buyers to North Dakota, Idaho and Washington to facilitate networking and business opportunities with U.S. barley growers and exporters.

"This program is particularly timely as the tariff-rate quota provisions for U.S. barley under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement will expire at the start of next year. At that time, U.S. barley will be able to enter South Korea duty-free without government quota allocation procedures, creating new opportunities for Korean importers to expand purchases of U.S. barley," said Haksoo Kim, USGBC director in South Korea.

"In preparation for this market transition, the Council is ramping up its work to introduce participants to the quality, reliability and competitiveness of U.S. food barley while providing practical information on sourcing, purchasing procedures, contracting mechanisms and supplier relationships."

Korea consumes approximately 180,000 metric tons (8.3 million bushels) of barley annually, primarily for food processing and as a rice substitute. Domestic production fluctuates significantly due to weather conditions and disease concerns and typically supplies only a portion of total demand, making Korea a consistent importer of barley.

The team landed in Fargo to kick off the program with presentations on U.S. barley production from Steven Edwardson and Greg Kessel of the North Dakota Barley Council. Later, Valley Grain Milling welcomed the group for a tour of its facilities and to showcase its barley processing capabilities.

In Idaho, the delegation met with a range of crucial barley supply chain stakeholders under the guidance of the Idaho Barley Commission. The itinerary included visits to Josh Jones Farms and Clearwater Farms to observe the barley harvesting process, and a tour of McKay Seed Company to discuss high-quality barley varieties and purchasing.

Stops at Lewiston Inland Seaport and a grain handling facility also showcased the rigorous U.S. safety standards within the U.S. grain export chain that preserves quality from the farm to the customer.

Finally, meetings with the Idaho Barley Commission, Inland Empire Milling and the United Grain Corporation expanded the group's connections in the U.S. barley sector to lay the groundwork for future business partnerships.

"Targeted trade servicing, buyer education and market development programs designed to increase awareness of the competitiveness of U.S. barley support the expansion of U.S. barley exports to South Korea in the long term, not only as rice extender but also as a raw material for healthy processed barley products," Kim said.

Learn more about the Council's work in South Korea on the organization's website.