USSEC 7th Regional Soybean Processing and Refining Conference – MENA took place from September 13th to 16th , 2024, at the Grosvenor House in Dubai, UAE. The conference attracted around 120 participants from the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey addressing significant issues in the soybean industry.
The event started on Saturday, September 14th, with opening remarks from Brent Babb, USSEC Regional Director for Europe, Middle East, and North Africa. Harrison Grafos, Ph.D., the Regional Agricultural Attaché for Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and UAE, provided insights from the USDA. Grower Leaders Jeffery Sorenson from the American Soybean Association (ASA) and Brent Gatton from the United Soybean Board (USB), contributed to setting the tone for the event.
As per Jeffrey Sorenson “It's been a great conference. So far, it has been amazing to me to get to meet so many different people from the area and hear so many different perspectives on what US soybeans means to all of them and how we can help to produce a better soybean quality for them… It's been an eye-opening experience for me to know where my soybeans can go globally and what impacts I can have on the world of soybeans.”
Brent Gatton stated “this has been a very interesting conference, learning more about the processing and refining process that our customers use over here in the Middle East. … I am here talking about our farm operations and our roles and our perspective operations… it was interesting to learn about the differences that the participants have seen between our soybeans here from the United States versus our competitors and the advantage that we have. So, I've learned so much, and I do truly believe in conferences like this …”
The day featured a robust line-up of presentations, such as Matt Ammermann from StoneX, who provided a global supply and demand update.
Jim Sutter, USSEC CEO, discussed the global market outlook and highlighted:
“I have had the pleasure of attending the USSEC 7th Regional Soybean Processing and Refining Conference – MENA. This is a wonderful opportunity to get together with many of the industry leaders from this part of the world and talk about what they see going on in their business. Our team has done such a great job here pulling together experts on the crushing and refining industry to talk with them about some of the latest developments in industry technology, with things they could be doing to improve their plants... Thanks to all the great customers that participated, the organizers and, of course, the presenters”.
Brent German, a soy processing consultant at Blind Corner Solutions, highlighted the operational advantages of U.S. soy, followed by technical insights from Alan Paine of ARP Lipids Consulting and Rich Barton, president of N Hunt Moore.
Discussions on the latest desolventizing technologies and developments in soy protein processing were led by David de Schaetzen of Desmet and Kevin Shadlock from Crown Europe. Sessions on optimizing energy utilization, refining techniques, and equipment innovations completed the day's comprehensive agenda.
The conference continued on Sunday, September 15th, with a deep dive into continuous soy protein concentration processes led by David de Schaetzen. Further sessions focused on minimizing hexane loss, advancing soy protein feasibility, and ensuring safety compliance with Rich Barton and Kevin Shadlock leading these technical discussions. The event concluded with a session on cavitation mixing and refinery performance evaluations.
With a focus on sharing expertise and innovations, the event strengthened ties across the global soybean industry and offered valuable opportunities for professional collaboration through a series of one-on-one meetings and networking activities.
Some photos from the event:
Group Photo
Certificates Award
