After completing the short course, they met with representatives from U.S. grain trading companies Ag Processing Corporation, Scoular Company, Gavilon and Hawkeye Gold in order to discuss and make contracts.
Yusupov said attending the short course at IGP helped prepare the team to meet with the traders.
“It works perfectly. They get a refresher course on U.S. grains — how to buy, purchase and risk manage. After that, they feel more confident to sit down and meet with U.S. traders and talk trade, prices and contracts,” he said.
According to Yusupov, programs such as this that include a risk management course taught by faculty at training centers like IGP can result in millions of dollars of U.S. sales.
Course manager and IGP agricultural economist Jay O’Neil said that course prepared the participants to meet with grain traders because the topics did not just give a broad overview of definition, but rather focused on applying the theories of risk management.
“In our short courses and workshops, we take care to include practical examples and exercises so that participants can put theory into practice. We also emphasize the accounting and management controls that are necessary when implementing the risk management strategies that are presented,” he said.
According to O’Neil, the course participants explore examples of how risk management strategies apply to their companies and try to find the best applications — whether they are grain traders or end users.
For course participant Le Nhat Thuy, vice-president of Choroen Pokphand in Vietnam, the course helped her feel more confident in making decisions discussing risk management options with her head office.
“I am really appreciative for all of the people here — for the instructor, Jay, and for all of the people who are here to help me at this course,” she said.
