NCGA Representatives Attend USGC Marketing Meeting (12-13-05)

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) First Vice President Ken McCauley and Joint Trade Policy A-Team Chairman Bob Bowman attended the Third Annual U.S. Grains Council (USGC) International Marketing Conference in Ixtapa, Mexico, last week to hear overseas reports on trade.

At the conference, USGC action teams discussed future marketing plans, and overseas officers reported on markets, covering trade issues, population growth, avian influenza, political climate and other factors.
Bowman and McCauley said the conference was informative and worthwhile, particularly with the World Trade Organization ministerial in Hong Kong under way this week.

“It was an excellent conference,” Bowman said. “It’s an excellent opportunity for NCGA and Grains Council members to obtain information from the overseas staff. You get a little different viewpoint when you hear their stories.”

“Trade issues are on everyone’s minds,” said McCauley. “And it is good timing with our officers and theirs in Hong Kong.”

Bowman said the WTO talks, the Canadian corn anti-dumping case and the high fructose corn syrup case with Mexico were major topics at the meetings. Bowman is gearing up for the Joint Policy Trade A-Team, which is a joint NCGA-USGC team, meeting in Tucson, Ariz., in February.

In addition to trade, NCGA and USGC have members on each other’s biotechnology teams. McCauley said he noticed NCGA and USGC are on the same page when it comes to those issues.

“That was one of the biggest things I took away from the meeting and was happy to see,” McCauley said. “Both groups have the same agenda and are willing to work together.”