Sri Lanka paves way in sustainable feed sourcing with US Soy, sets benchmark for South Asian region

USSEC Director – Sustainability Abby Rinne

USSEC Regional Director for South Asia and Sub-Sahran Africa Kevin Roepke

Thanzyl Thajudeen in conversation with US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) Director of Sustainability Abby Rinne, and Regional Director for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa Kevin Roepke, at the Soy Connext annual conference in San Francisco, CA held on 19-21 August

Soybeans are one of the most important global crops, rich in protein, making them a crucial ingredient in bothw human and animal diets. They are particularly valuable as a plant-based protein source for vegetarians and vegans. Besides protein, it’s packed with essential nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, contributing to a balanced diet. The demand for soy-based products has surged globally, driven by the growing popularity of plant-based diets and the need for sustainable food sources.

Soybean oil is widely used in cooking and food processing. It is also a key ingredient in the production of biodiesel. With the push for renewable energy sources, demand for soybeans in biofuel production has seen an uptick. Out of the world production of four major oils, Oil World states that there will be a much larger dependence on soybean oil, forecasted to rise by 3-3.2 million tonnes annually. Besides food, soybeans are now used in the manufacture of various industrial products, such as inks, plastics, and adhesives, contributing to more sustainable manufacturing practices.

US Soy’s role in the global context

With consumer demand for protein taking a huge leap forward every year globally, US Soy plays a crucial role as a leading exporter to many parts of the world in addition to their strong domestic markets. Currently, nearly 60% of US Soy products are exported. US farmers are expected to produce 4.6 billion bushels of soybeans for the 2024/25 crop and supply estimates up 11% over last year, according to USDA. 

While soybeans are sold as a commodity oilseed, research continues to show that soy from the US is a premium product that increases operational efficiencies for livestock farms, feed mills, and oil crushers; introduces better flavour profiles in the soy foods sector, and exemplifies on-farm stewardship and conservation efforts, giving it the lowest carbon footprint.

Sri Lanka’s need for soy and the poultry industry 

A significant portion of global soybean production is used as animal feed, particularly for poultry, swine, and aquaculture. As meat consumption rises, especially in developing countries, the demand for soybeans in this sector increases. This is the case with Sri Lanka as well.

Sri Lanka requires somewhere between 210,000-240,000 MT of soybean meal in animal feed production in poultry which is the leading livestock industry in the country supplying animal proteins to the nation, and this figure is significantly growing every year according to insights from USSEC. The US soybean meal imports to Sri Lanka were estimated at $ 101 million in 2023, making it the largest importer in the region. The textured soy requirement is equal to about 12,000 metric tons (MT) per year. The major non-genetically modified organism (GMO) soyfood product in Sri Lanka is soy nuggets.

Despite the high input costs in the sector, poultry production continues to be profitable, and industry players go beyond just numbers to source sustainable and quality feeds and ingredients that come at a premium, and consumers are increasingly shifting towards choosing sustainable products. US Soy enjoys more than 70% market share in the country, with the industry showing a strong preference based on the essential amino acid profile, higher digestibility, lower fibre and reliable supply chain that US Soy has. And the industry’s leaders understand the value proposition of US Soy, who in turn want to give customers products that truly are sustainable. 

USSEC strongly believes that Sri Lanka’s poultry industry deserves a lot of credit, with tremendous leaders and people, leading the region in terms of cold chain, hygienic slaughter processing, environmentalism and sustainability. As a result, one could see a very high preference for Sri Lankan poultry in foreign markets. When compared to other countries, Sri Lanka is right at the top when it comes to such characteristics with impressive facilities. Despite its smaller scale given its size, the industry is very confident, resilient and forward looking

US Soy leading the way

The primary soybean-producing countries are the US, Brazil, and Argentina. Global soybean production has been increasing, driven by expanding acreage and improvements in yield due to better agricultural practices and biotechnology. Overall demand for US Soy remains strong both domestically and internationally. Exports and their continued growth are critical for the US Soy complex. Currently, nearly 60% of US Soy products are exported. The US Soy is an optimal nutritional bundle that is backed by science, mathematics, and data, and one with the highest level of digestible acids and metabolism activity. High in value, it provides the optimum level of profitability for customers.  US Soy farmers this year anticipate a higher yield with favourable weather conditions in recent weeks.

The US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) greatly contributed to US Soy market, with the goal of gaining market access, differentiating US soybeans for use in aquaculture, livestock feed, and human consumption in more than 80 countries worldwide, and elevating consumer preference. Members of USSEC include related agribusinesses, agricultural organisations, commodity shippers, merchandisers, US Soy farmers, and processors. Together, they represent the whole soy supply chain. USSEC hosts events such as the SoyConnext every year where it brings people together to connect, interact, and make networks.

Climate change is an incredibly important aspect. For US Soy farmers, raising soy sustainably is a very important topic of concern. Deforestation, carbon intensity, land use change (LUC), and related are other issues at play. Food and nutrition security is another, as the world has an abundant number of calories it’s very deficient in protein and USSEC’s ‘Right to Protein’ initiative actively advocates in this regard. Through such a lens, one should find ways in how to satisfy the nutrient requirements of 8 billion people while doing so in an environmentally sustainable manner, and US Soy sits at the nexus of that conversation globally and in South Asia and Sri Lanka alike.

Sustainability at the helm of US Soy 

US Soy is different from soy in other regions for several different factors, primarily with farmers having focused on sustainability for over a century. From the times of the Great Depression, the industry has looked at soil conservation measures and the development of agencies by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to focus on working with landowners on soil conservation has had a significant impact.

Within the US, 97% of the farms are family-owned, and these farmers constantly work on improving their operations, passing their legacy and land to the next generation, in a better shape than they received it. Farmers in the US focus on precision agriculture, conservation tillage, cover crops, and just about all areas in regenerative agriculture. All of these efforts lead to the reduction of the carbon footprint of US Soy, which has one of the lowest compared to other regions. This is largely enabled by sustainable production practices including land use change (LUC) which is comparatively lower than countries like Brazil and Argentina because of their deforestation and land conversion. Transportation within the US also has a huge advantage in contrast to other countries due to its efficient infrastructure for the transportation of soy as it relies heavily on barge and rail which is very eco-friendly as opposed to trucks.

The USDA also has a wide range of programs such as the long-standing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) where farmers enter contracts to take productive land out of production and provide an eco-service. Last year, the USDA also introduced partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grants, focused on increasing and improving farms including incentives and compensation. 

USSEC also announced recently that the US Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP) has achieved a gold-level equivalency against the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment 3.0, which looks at the sustainable inputs into products and has a standard evaluation process. The SSAP is a protocol that outlines the regulations, processes, and management practices that ensure sustainable soy production on US soybean farms. It is a national system of sustainability and conservation laws and regulations combined with careful implementation of best production practices on more than 270,000 US soybean farms. Last year, around 70% of the exports had the SSAP certificate. 

Another new addition of the US Soy SSAP is that international customers of US Soy can now request the inclusion of their soy purchase’s carbon footprint on their SSAP certificate and USSEC is the first organisation to use the GFLI in this manner to be able to share with its customers what the carbon footprint is of the soy they are purchasing so that they can choose to use it in their scope 3 or any other sustainability reporting. This data, sourced from the Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI) database, offers a calculation based on the quantity of soy purchased and can be used in their carbon accounting.

Shift from carb to protein globally and US Soy’s role

The world is experiencing a shift from food security to nutrition security globally. With many understanding the role of having a healthy balanced diet or one with high protein content coupled with increases in disposable income, their first step would be to replace their carbohydrates with some type of protein which can be either animal protein or plant protein. 

The Right to Protein is a consumer awareness and advocacy program by USSEC that is designed to be a catalyst for this, supporting emerging markets by helping consumers, governments, and companies understand the role of what the protein plays within the diet, especially among young and developing children. USSEC is seeing a tremendous shift and intake in countries across South Asia in both animal and plant-based proteins producers, all concentrated in the increase of consumption or protein. The way US Soy plays a role is by taking a holistic approach as soy is a primary ingredient in many animal protein feeds, and being an ingredient in soy-based food. USSEC has a crucial leadership role in the protein consumption conversation and as a leader in this narrative, they are witnessing the importance of protein in major discussions in the highest level of governments around the world. 

Sri Lanka setting a benchmark in the region

In July last year, a leading local poultry producer, New Anthoney’s Farms adopted the “Fed with Sustainable US Soy’ label on their products, making them the first in the entire South Asian and Sub-Saharan Africa region. 10 other producers followed suit and signed licensing agreements. Despite its smaller industry size compared to its neighbouring countries, Sri Lanka’s poultry and livestock industry has continued to uphold and increase its quality, efficiency, and capabilities, with significant investments and efforts towards adopting sustainability across its entire operations and supply chain. 

This year’s Soy Connext recognised a few of the companies including Sri Lanka’s New Anthoney’s Group and Happy Hen (Switz Lanka) for using the Sustainable US Soy and the ‘Fed with US Sustainable Soy’ label, which are used by 120 companies in 18 different countries and across over 1,000 products. It’s a great showcase of companies using sustainable products throughout their supply chain and allowing consumers to make choices as they look at labelling. A very recent one was the 7-Eleven convenience store chain in Japan which began using the logo in their tofu bars, assuring customers they’re making the right decisions when it comes to sustainability in products. 

The label shows end consumers that their products are committed to environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. It helps them add value to their brands. It helps them differentiate their brand in the marketplace thereby capturing market share. It helps them attract a higher level of talent. A speech highlight at Soy Connext mentioned that a company based in Korea was able to increase its sales by 21% since the label’s adoption. 

USSEC is seeing an uptake in companies opting for the Sustainable US Soy and the ‘Fed with US Sustainable Soy’ labels in their packaging including in South Asia. With Sri Lanka pioneering in such aspects and very much leaning into green agriculture and initiatives, the country could take advantage of export opportunities and tie into the importance of global environmental sustainability.