U.S. Grains Council, Key Partners Hold Corn, Ethanol Conference In Japan

Recently, nearly 100 industry stakeholders gathered for the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) 2024 Corn and Ethanol Conference in Tokyo, Japan. The event enhanced relationships between U.S. producers and agribusinesses and Japanese importers by sharing information on crop progress and the sustainability benefits of U.S. corn and ethanol.

The Council’s delegation was led by USGC Japan Director Tommy Hamamoto and included USGC Director of Global Ethanol Export Development Mackenzie Boubin; USGC Senior Manager of Global Ethanol Market Development Ankit Chandra; Commonwealth Agri-Energy General Manager Mick Henderson; Illinois Corn Marketing Board Former Chaiman and USGC At-Large Director Jim Reed; and Iowa Corn Growers’ Association Director Dan Keitzer.

“Japan is an extremely important market for U.S. ethanol and it’s exciting to consider how much it could still expand because of rising demand for automobile fuel ethanol and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),” Boubin said.

Before the conference, the Council’s team met with staff from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA’s FAS) and from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to coordinate future events and further strengthen the robust trade relationship between the countries.

The group also met with representatives from two leading automobile manufacturers to learn about their implementation of ethanol and how the U.S. industry can help them meet their goals.

Erica Summe, agricultural attaché at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, gave opening remarks at the conference and was followed by a series of presentations on the low carbon impact (CI) of U.S. corn and ethanol and updates on corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) production.

Hamamoto spoke to attendees about the Council’s Corn Sustainability Assurance Protocol (CSAP), that promotes the environmentally friendly practices of U.S. producers and gives U.S. goods a competitive advantage with climate-conscious consumers.