Customer interaction in Covid times

Hamlet Protein, global leader in soy protein specialties for young animal nutrition, is finding new ways to share knowledge and insights with customers and business partners. As travel restrictions continue to limit the opportunity for face-to-face meetings, the company has found other ways to engage with its stakeholders. In October that resulted in various webinars and special edition of Feed Your Brain.

Hamlet Protein hosted a webinar on the market dynamics of the global pork industry. Hamlet Protein CEO Erik Visser received Justin Sherrard, Global Strategist Animal Protein at Rabobank, to discuss the current situation in the swine market and 2021 outlook. The webinar was held in two sessions, to allow a global audience to attend. It focused on the impact of ASF, Covid-19, trade disputes and sustainability on animal protein markets around the world. After a lively discussion with the participants, a 2021 outlook was shared, expecting an initial recovery of swine markets next year, with Chinese local production and import volumes continuing to drive global market dynamics.

Hamlet Protein has a strong presence in the USA, where it operates a state of the art production facility in Findlay, Ohio. The North American swine market has come under pressure in recent months. Hamlet Protein invited Joe Kerns to speak on current and expected market developments. He highlighted that US pig numbers are decreasing with on-going sow liquidation. However domestic demand for pork continues to be strong just like export volumes. That leads to cautious optimism on market hog prices and a return to profit for pork producers in 2021. Jim Wiesemeyer shared insights on the agenda of the candidates for US presidency and more specifically on their policies for the ag industry.

In Germany Hamlet Protein organized a small-scale Feed Your Brain seminar. Number of attendants was restricted, following strict Covid-19 guidelines, and international presenters connected on-line. The seminar focused on young animal nutrition in both swine and poultry. The attendees discussed the impact of the recent ASF cases in wild boars, ban on exports for German pork to China and Covid-19 on the Germany swine industry. In a discussion on sustainability, Dr. Kampf highlighted the continuous dependence on soy imports for animal feed production in Germany.