Council Provides Technical Support To Nigerian Feed Millers

Last week, staff based in the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council's (USGBC's) regional office for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) traveled to Nigeria to meet with several influential agribusinesses and discuss further trade opportunities for U.S. corn, sorghum and their co-products including corn gluten meal (CGM) and new generation distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The mission combined site visits, individualized technical training and meetings with major feed manufacturers and potential end-users.

The mission comes as Nigeria's commercial feed industry is entering a period of significant expansion with an estimated 1 to 1.5 million metric tons of additional feed production in the medium term, creating fresh demand for feed ingredients and an opportunity to position U.S. corn and co-products within the country's expanding poultry and aquaculture sectors.

"Using formulation software and locally available ingredient prices, the sessions demonstrated the nutritional and potential economic value of U.S. corn co-products while addressing the specific needs of individual feed operations," said Mohamed Salah Bouthour, USGBC deputy regional director for Africa.

"Positioning U.S. growers as the preferred choice for the long-term input needs of livestock producers in Nigeria is an exceptional opportunity for U.S. feed grain exports in the future that the Council is laying the groundwork for today."

A key component of the mission was a series of customized technical sessions with feed manufacturers. Council experts worked directly with feed formulators and production teams to demonstrate least-cost formulation and evaluate opportunities to incorporate U.S. DDGS and CGM into poultry and aquaculture diets.

The Council also advanced efforts to develop demand for U.S. sorghum. Preparations continued for a poultry feeding trial planned for 2027 that will compare U.S. sorghum with local sorghum and evaluate its performance under Nigerian production conditions. The trial will generate local technical data that can support future commercial adoption of U.S. sorghum in feed formulations.

At the same time, discussions were held with Nigeria's food and beverage sector to assess the technical suitability of U.S. sorghum for brewing applications. This approach could help diversify demand by developing opportunities for U.S. sorghum beyond animal feed.

"Building on these activities, the Council will continue providing technical support and training to the Nigerian feed industry while connecting potential Nigerian buyers with U.S. suppliers. By combining technical education, product demonstrations, local trials and trade development, the Council is establishing a foundation for greater utilization of U.S. feed grains and co-products in one of West Africa's expanding feed markets," Bouthour said.

"Meeting with multiple companies also increased the Council's reputation in Nigeria's domestic feed industry, which will allow us to connect with a wider range of customers in the future as an established partner connecting them to U.S. suppliers."

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