Vietnam to import DDGS from the US again

This was announced by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR). In December 2016, Vietnam suspended imports of US DDGS after reported detections of quarantine pests in US shipments. Prior to the suspension, Vietnam was the third-largest market for American DDGS, with exports valued at more than US$230 million in 2016. The resolution of this issue also opens the way for corn and wheat shipments, which were restricted due to previous treatment requirements.

The DDGS ban is one of several agricultural and other priority issues raised in connection with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Washington in May 2017, where he met with President Trump as well as secretary of agriculture Sonny Perdue and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Following the series of meetings, the two governments released a joint statement pledging to work closely together to resolve the DDGS issue.

DDGS are a co-product of ethanol production and are used as an ingredient to provide protein and energy in animal feed. Between 2007 and 2016, annual US exports of DDGS worldwide grew from US$392 million to US$2.16 billion.

Source: USDA