Following the completion of the three-year industrial corn starch study developed by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), the organization continues to present the results to industrial plants that played a role in the study.
Dr. Vijay Singh of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who conducted the study, along with USGC staff, recently traveled to Cali, Colombia, to meet with representatives from a leading industrial plant with the goal of strengthening that relationship while continuing discussions on potential collaboration opportunities to elevate future iterations of the research.
The results of the second year of the study were presented during the visit, showcasing how U.S. corn has more starch available for extraction than competitors, which can have a notable impact on profits in the wet milling industry.
“The operations personnel of the industrial plant agreed on the superiority of corn from the U.S. over South America in terms of starch extraction,” said Ana Ballesteros, USGC marketing director in Latin America. “However, they have been buying South American corn when the price is lower. With the recommendations given in terms of the adjustments to their operations to maximize the benefits of the superiority in starch extraction of U.S. corn, this plant may consider additional factors when calculating the cost difference when analyzing other options. Their willingness to do so and to continue engaging with a next step of this work led by the Council may result in savings for their operations.”