“Do good and Feed everybody”  US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.  We started the first full day in China eating a full breakfast with Tea Eggs, rice noodles and sticky buns.  Our first tour was with the United States Agricultural Trade Office in the US Consulate, and it was given by Tyler Babcock, the Deputy Director, a farm boy from near Columbus, Nebraska.  They focus on 3 pillars: trade policy, trade promotion, and trade capacity building.  China imports $10.5 billion of US food and agricultural products, but it was surprising to learn that China is #2 in US ag exports, and Canada is actually our #1 ag trade customer. It was awesome to hear that the general Chinese public believe that American products are high quality, safe, and consistent.  The trust comes from many promotional efforts by the US Trade Office.  We also learned how important it is for the American staff and Directors to switch locations around the world every 3-4 years so that they may gain a stronger global sense and understanding.

Secondly we heard from the US Meat Export Federation.  The non-profit was founded in 1976 and strives to bring American red meat into other countries with their 17 offices around the globe.  We learned that the main source of protein in China is pork, making it very popular.  The USMEF is focused on offering seminars, cooking training, sample tasting, and chef training to teach influencers about our American products.  China has many preferences when it comes to meat products.  They prefer fresh meat vs chilled or frozen, and that makes it difficult to get our product across the ocean with much shelf life left.  It was also during this presentation that they shared the previously stated Sonny Perdue philosophy of “do good and feed everybody”.  These speakers really showed how American producers and ag products are feeding the world.  An interesting fact is that we can export pork and beef to China, but due to trade regulations, the Chinese market is closed to US lamb.

Tyson China only raises poultry versus the multiple species they raise in the US.  Our speaker “Bubba” grew up in a mountainous region of China before going to graduate school at the University of Arkansas getting a Master’s degree in Ag Business and a PhD in Poultry Nutrition.  He shared about the two breeds of chickens they raise for the Chinese market.  Yellow chickens are considered more traditional and are served at home settings.  White chickens imported from the US are twice as efficient, and are used in food service and restaurants.  Their poultry markets are very different than the US in that we value the breast meat and Chinese consumers prefer the thighs and feet.  The final interesting thought was that China makes up 18% of the world’s populations, but consumes 28% of the world’s meat products, so we need to figure out what are the ways for us to continue to sell our products to the Chinese market.

Our afternoon was spent touring Daktronic’s office and factory in Shanghai, and also touring a silk factory.  It was great seeing Daktronics and knowing that something so big could come from such a little town.  The fact that they had SDSU grads working there was also fun to see.  They have 150 employees in the Shanghai plant, but only 4 of them are US citizens.  We also learned about the benefits and challenges of working internationally from both a professional and personal perspective.  Seeing and learning about where silk comes from, and how it is made into products we use was really interesting, and a unique experience.  Who knew something from a cocoon could be so soft?  The evening was spent on a river tour of Shanghai.  It is a sight that is hard to put into words.  It is absolutely stunning to say the least.  Seeing all the skyscrapers light up the sky with changing light patterns is a sight that I’m sure none of us will forget!

  Tyson

 

           Daktronics

 

      Daktronics

 

      River cruise

 

        Stretching silk