U.S. soybean growers on WISHH’s trade team meet with the owners of a fish hatchery as they prepare to install Cambodia’s first aquaculture raceway to increase the production of fish in the region. Missouri farmers’ soybean checkoff dollars supported WISHH technical assistance for planning and construction of the raceway.

WISHH continues to collaborate with U.S. soy exporters as well as the current and potential customers in Myanmar and Cambodia that met the exporters and U.S. soybean growers who served on WISHH’s January trade team. A follow up survey shows six of seven U.S. exporters on the WISHH trade team report it yielded new sales leads.

Meanwhile, the U.S. soybean growers on the team have responded to the question, “How important do you feel WISHH is in breaking open and building new demand for U.S. soy in emerging markets?” They answered with a positive rating of 9.6 on a scale of 10. Additionally, ten out of ten farmer leaders responding to the survey recommend other U.S. soybean growers participate in future WISHH trade servicing trips.

The U.S. soybean growers and exporters delivered information about U.S. soy protein to current and potential customers in Cambodia and Myanmar where protein demand is rapidly growing for aquaculture and livestock feeds as well as human foods. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds supported the January 12-20 travel for the soybean leaders to have face-to-face discussions with WISHH’s many contacts in the human food and livestock feed industries.

In Myanmar, WISHH is growing demand for U.S. soy in the human food market while the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) is leading the animal feed and aquaculture sector work. In Cambodia, WISHH implements both U.S. soy food and feed strategies, including a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) – Cambodia project.

WISHH’s Southeast Asia trade team celebrated a milestone with a WISHH and CAST strategic partner by joining a ribbon cutting for Cambodia’s first in-pond raceway aquaculture system, an important innovation for the sustainable increase of fish production in the region. Missouri farmers’ soybean checkoff dollars were vital to WISHH’s work on the new raceway that is a channel for continuous flow of water to grow fish. The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council (MSMC) supported WISHH technical assistance for its planning and construction. WISHH leveraged the investment by integrating the hatchery’s strengthened fish-production capacity into the CAST project.