USDBC Monthly Activities Report Southeast Asia Representative. September 2012

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1 M12GXASEA1: Trade Servicing USDBC Monthly Activities Report Southeast Asia Representative September 2012 Early this month, we learned from Randy Duckworth that the USDBC likely will organize a trade team to the 2013 CICILS (International Pulse Trade and Industry Confederation) which will be take place at The Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore from 15 th 18 th April, We plan to discuss this matter with Pete Klaiber at the annual USDPLC Conference to see what USDPLC plans are for CICILS, so we can coincide activities, if appropriate. Ms. Naggie Thunyaporn, Crop Quality Specialist of NCI traveled to the region to conduct a technical workshop in Malaysia. In conjunction with this trip, we also arranged a meeting for her to meet with JR F&B, a major importer of pulses in Thailand on September 7 th. They are interested to import garbanzo, dark red kidney and black beans in brine as finished products from Faribault Foods. Later on, Ms. Naggie provided them with contact information of and an introduction to this company. During a meeting we also informed them about 2013 CICILS and pointed out that participation at this event will be a good opportunity for them to meet with U.S. exporters and traders. We received an inquiry from Siam Del Monte Co., Ltd., a canner in Thailand. Ms. Nuttha, Technical Manager revealed that a potential Japanese client has interest in having them develop mixed beans in a canned brine product. After communicating with Ms. Naggie, we suggested they consider the following beans; navy, pinto, great northern, pink beans, baby limas, black-eye beans, and cranberry beans. At this initial stage, she would like to know the rough prices of beans to get an idea on budgetary factors before submitting a proposal. Later on, we forwarded her contact information of JR F&B and Wang Chemical, our local importers. In this month, we also received a question from her on the amount of water absorption for those beans that were suggested by Ms. Naggie and we will assist her in getting an answer. Dr. Dee Richmond, USDBC ASEAN representative and Ms. Naggie also traveled to Indonesia in September to meet with local importers and prospective users. During this trip, Ms. Naggie gave comprehensive presentations to Kalbe Nutritionals and Garuda Foods. Both are interested in the potential use of U.S. beans in snacks and other value-added products, such as beverages and baby foods. Ms. Naggie also provided technical assistance for bean flour milling to EDP, some technical advice to Ace Food on bean snack production, as well as assisted Ms. Mandy Ng of Campbell Cheong Chan (M) Sdn Bhd, from Malaysia on their problem with bean cracked seed coats. Dee also had a meeting with Ali Abdi, Agricultural Counselor, and John Slette, Agricultural Attaché, at U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. She noted during the meeting that they have not yet received notification from the Indonesian Government of its re-certification of the U.S. food safely system. This will impact the new import documentation requirements which were recently announced by the Indonesian Government. In this month, we are still waiting for further news from them. Food Ingredients Asia 2012, Indonesia We first discussed the possibility of participating in Food Ingredients Asia with Pete Klaiber of USDPLC in May After getting approval from him, we confirmed our participation on behalf of USDPLC and USDBC with the event organizer and reserved a 3x3 meter booth in the USA Pavilion. The show will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 3-5 October, 2012 at Jakarta International Expo. In this month, we have been working closely with the event organizer on the final preparations for the show and also informed the FAS office in Jakarta of our plans. During the show, we will be showcasing U.S. pulse and pulse flour ingredients, promotional materials, as well as providing

2 pulse-based samples for visitors at the booth. Mr. Don Driscoll of Magiva NA Inc., a pulse exporter from the States will also participate at this show. We sent out an invitation by to invite key clients and prospects in the region to visit our booth Food and Hotel Asia, Singapore This show took place April at the Singapore Expo Center. We took part as an exhibitor in the USA pavilion on behalf of USDBC and USDPLC. This month, we kept communicating with some potential buyers that we met during this show and are still waiting for their responses. E12MXASEA1: Technical Assistance for the Use of U.S. Dry Beans in Canned Meat and Other Products The Technical Assessment associated with this EMP project was completed and submitted to FAS and the EMP Office in July and again in August. In addition, we submitted an Amendment Request for some basic changes in this activity in line with information we received from the trade during the Technical Assessment. We are awaiting approval of the Technical Assessment and Amendment before we can begin implementation of this program. We continued to communicate with FAS on this in September. E12MXASEA2: Snack Food Opportunities for U.S. Dry Beans The Technical Assessment for this EMP project was conducted in conjunction with the Assessment for E12MXASEA1 (see above). The Technical Assessment was completed and submitted to FAS and the EMP Office in July and August We are awaiting approval of the Technical Assessment before we can begin implementation of this program. Last month, we were asked to re-submit the Technical Assessment by FAS. We continued to communicate with FAS on this in September. M12GXGBI21: Building Demand for U.S. Foods and Food Ingredients in Indonesia We received notification of the approval for this GBI on March 6, 2012, with a total budget of $162,000. The project involves a series of three U.S. Food Showcases in Indonesia, in the cities of Makassar, Balikpapan, and Medan. These will be followed by three retail promotions in major supermarkets in these cities. We traveled to Indonesia last month to meet with Iva Perkerti, our local contractor on this project, to discuss planning for the final Food Agents Showcase in Medan and the retail promotions. We decided to conduct the Medan showcase on October at the JW Marriott Hotel in Medan. We also met with major retailers who are interested in the retail food promotions, including Carrefour, Hero, Ranch Market, Yogja Supermarkets, and Hypermarket. In this month, we have been working closely with Iva and other U.S. cooperators on the program preparations including tentative schedules and exhibition layout for Medan. On September 25 th, the FAS Jakarta office sent out an official letter to invite importers and agents of U.S. food products to participate in this show. Preliminary indications on the follow up supermarket promotions also indicated that we will not be able to use our full funding if we just undertake promotions in Makassar, Balikpapan, and Medan. Consequently, we communicated with the other cooperators in this project and FAS about using some of the funds to support retail promotions in other secondary cities, including those where we had showcases last year, which included Bandung, Surabaya, and Jogyakarta.

3 M12GXGBI25: Promotion of Healthy Foods in Malaysia with the Use of U.S. Pulse Ingredients This is a GBI project, involving the USDBC and the USDPLC, to promote the use of U.S. pulses as healthy ingredients to food processors in Malaysia. Early this month, Ms. Naggie Thunyaporn, Crop Quality Specialist of NCI and the USDBC ASEAN representatives traveled to Kuala Lumpur. We conducted the one-day technical seminar and cooking demonstration entitled A New Look at U.S. Pulses as Healthy and Versatile Ingredients on September 6 th at the Malaysian Institute of Baking. Thirty local participants from the food industry took part in the program. The final list of participants is provided in the table below. No Participant Names Position Companies / Organizations 1 Mr. Nick Loh Managing Director Cheong Chan (Hup Kee) Sdn. Bhd. 2 Mr. Ee Kim Swee Managing Director E Bake Supplies S/B 3 Ms. Ang Fua Hooh Assistant R&D Manager Mighty Bakery Sdn Bhd 4 Ms. Gwee Su Ing R&D Executive Mighty Bakery Sdn Bhd 5 Mrs. Eliza Chee Director Resource Food Supplies (M) S/B 6 Ms. Low Yun Yuan R&D Executive Mamee-Double Decker (M) Bhd 7 Ms. Debbie Teo Koon Hooi R&D Executive Mamee-Double Decker (M) Bhd 8 Ms. Lim Yim Sun R&D Executive Mamee-Double Decker (M) Bhd 9 Ms. Lai Kelly R&D Manager United Malayan Flour (1996) Sdn Bhd 10 Mr. Sim Foo Leong Production Manager United Malayan Flour (1996) Sdn Bhd 11 Mr. Chew Kian Hong Michael Group General Manager United Malayan Flour (1996) Sdn Bhd 12 Ms. Jessica Tan Senior R&D Executive Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia) Bhd. 13 Mr. Lee Thong Kiau Assistant R&D Manager Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia) Bhd. 14 Mr. Mohamad Azli Shah Chef Lecturer Inti International College, Subang 15 Mr. Shanmugam Rajoo Chef Lecturer Inti International College, Subang 16 Ms. Leela Manickam R&D Manager FFM Marketing Sdn. Bhd. 17 Ms. Sutha Munusamy R&D Executive FFM Marketing Sdn. Bhd. 18 Ms. Ng Siew Ping R&D Executive 19 Mr. Chong Yee Pau R&D Executive 20 Mr. Chong Whye Hong R&D Executive 21 Mr. Kevin Tan Hong Kiat R&D Executive 22 Ms. Foo Shih Yun R&D Executive 23 Mr. Kevin Ryan Head of Culinary Malaysian Indian Chef's Association 24 Mr. Ricky Narayanan Ryan Sous Chef Malaysian Indian Chef's Association 25 Mr. Boobalan Arumugam Sous Chef Malaysian Indian Chef's Association 26 Mr. A. Nasar B. Mohd Ali Sous Chef Stableford Development Sdn Bhd 27 Mr. Chan Wai Seong Chinese Bqu. Asst. Chef Stableford Development Sdn Bhd 28 Mr. Leong Fook Keong Pastry Chef The Roti Mam Bakery 29 Mr. Eswaran Sinayah (Veera) Pastry Chef Asean Culinary Academy 30 Mr. Siti Zaleha Mohd. Dasim Dietitian Lee Sky Chef Braham Sdn. Bhd.

Mr. Chris Rittgers, Agricultural Counselor, and Ms.

sessions. Mr. Chris also made the welcoming remarks at the program.

USDBC and USDPLC promotional materials, the power point presentations as well as the baking and cooking

Tirapat Chernprateep, USDBC ASEAN Representative, gave an Introduction to USDBC and USDPLC and their regional

Dry Peas, Lentils, Beans and Pea Flours; Nutritional Properties and Health Benefits of U.S.

Furthermore, Chef Federico Michieletto presented Fundamentals of Cooking with U.S.

4 Mr. Chris Rittgers, Agricultural Counselor, and Ms. Loh Leepin, Assistant Marketing Manager of FAS Kuala Lumpur Office, joined us at the program in the morning sessions. Mr. Chris also made the welcoming remarks at the program. The course participants were presented with samples of pulse-based products and pulse flours. USDBC and USDPLC promotional materials, the power point presentations as well as the baking and cooking recipes were also provided for the group. Mr. Tirapat Chernprateep, USDBC ASEAN Representative, gave an Introduction to USDBC and USDPLC and their regional activities. Ms. Naggie Thunyaporn, also gave presentations on Introduction to U.S. Dry Peas, Lentils, Beans and Pea Flours; Nutritional Properties and Health Benefits of U.S. Dry Peas and Pea Flour; and New Product Applications. Furthermore, Chef Federico Michieletto presented Fundamentals of Cooking with U.S. Dry Peas, Lentils, Chickpeas, Beans and Pea Flour. Some pictures taken at the program are below. Welcome remarks by Chris Rittgers, Agricultural Attaché Introduction to USDBC & USDPLC By Mr. Tirapat Chernprateep Technical Presentation by Ms. Naggie Thunyaporn of NCI Fundamentals of Cooking with U.S. Pulses by Chef Federico Michieletto Participant Self-Introduction Baking Demonstration with U.S. Pea Flour by Ms. Naggie Thunyaporn

during Cooking Demo Certificate Ceremony Group Photo During the baking demonstration in the afternoon, Ms.

chickpea flour. Chef Federico also demonstrated three recipes utilizing U.S.

yellow split peas, mints leaves with seared scallop and ham and pea salad (ii) Asian spice confit of duck leg

The program went extremely well, the participants were active and raised a lot more questions than we

5 Cooking Demonstration with U.S. Pulses by Chef Federico Michieletto Tabletop Showcase of Samples and Promotional Materials Product Testing during Cooking Demo Certificate Ceremony Group Photo During the baking demonstration in the afternoon, Ms. Naggie demonstrated Cake Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies made from precooked split yellow pea flour and chickpea flour. Chef Federico also demonstrated three recipes utilizing U.S. pulses to the group; (i) cappuccino of U.S. yellow split peas, mints leaves with seared scallop and ham and pea salad (ii) Asian spice confit of duck leg with sichuan pepper chili and salt dust with U.S. lentils stewed and (iii) U.S. chickpeas pancake with rucola olives. The program went extremely well, the participants were active and raised a lot more questions than we expected. Analysis of the results from the program evaluation indicated that overall the participants were impressed and satisfied with the program, which was shown by 45% of participants rating the program as Excellent and 55% as Good. More details will be provided in the project report.

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