U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) leadership and staff recently participated in a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Trade Reciprocity for U.S. Manufacturers and Producers mission in Vietnam. Photo credit: USGBC.
The U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC) recently participated in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Trade Reciprocity for U.S. Manufacturers and Producers trade mission to Vietnam, where the delegation engaged with key coarse grain and co-product stakeholders in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
USGBC Vice Chairman Jay Reiners, USGBC Deputy Regional Director for Southeast Asia & Oceania (SEA&O) Chris Markey, USGBC Vietnam Representative Tran Trong Nghia and USGBC Regional Ethanol Consultant Kent Yeo joined the mission’s principal, USDA Under Secretary Luke J. Lindberg, for the program.
“The Council’s close alignment with USDA on expanding international markets for the U.S. corn, sorghum and barley farmer was further reinforced by this constructive mission to Vietnam,” said Reiners said.
“We appreciate Under Secretary Lindberg’s recognition of Vietnam’s potential as a key growth market for U.S. coarse grains and co-products, as well as its role as a strategic gateway to broader regional expansion for our farmers’ products.”
Vietnam is one of Asia’s fastest growing fuel markets, with annual consumption of gasoline projected to surpass three billion gallons per year in 2027. The upcoming E10 policy, which will apply to the country’s RON95 grade of gasoline, will complement the existing E5 RON92 mandate implemented in 2018 – meaning 100 percent of gasoline in Vietnam will be blended with ethanol beginning in June. The new policy is expected to create a fuel ethanol demand of approximately 240 million gallons per year.
Vietnam continues to be a major market for U.S. DDGS and has recently emerged as a top export market for U.S. corn. More than 1.1 million metric tons (MMT) of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) were exported to Vietnam in marketing year (MY) 2024/2025, making it the third largest export market for U.S. DDGS. Vietnam was the eighth largest customer of U.S. corn in MY 24/25 and is the seventh largest export market for U.S. corn in the current marketing year.
The mission commenced in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s economic hub, where the delegation met with key ethanol customers, including PVOIL, to discuss procurement and implementation strategies ahead of the country’s introduction of E10 gasoline. The Council’s delegation also participated in the Food & Hospitality Vietnam Trade Show, the largest food and beverage expo in Vietnam, alongside other USDA cooperators promoting U.S. food and agricultural products.
The delegation continued to Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and political nucleus, to conduct site visits and meetings with key importers. This included a visit to Haiphong International Container Terminal (HICT), a business roundtable with coarse grain and co-product importers and the USDA Ag Hall of Fame Reception, where Under Secretary Lindberg presented the U.S.–Vietnam Agricultural Hall of Fame Award to six Vietnamese companies.
Under Secretary Lindberg and the Council’s team also held an E10 promotional event at Petrolimex’s flagship retail fuel station, where Petrolimex Chairman Pham Van Thanh attended to discuss E10 and dispensed gasoline for local motorbike and passenger vehicle customers. The activity further underscored the strong partnership between Petrolimex, Vietnam’s largest fuel distributor, and the U.S. ethanol industry.
The Council, Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association signed a quadripartite memorandum of understating (MOU) with Petrolimex in 2025 to assist the company in its preparation for increased ethanol blending.
“The significant agricultural trade partnership between Vietnam and the U.S. will only strengthen in the coming years with continued growth of the Vietnamese animal feed industry and rollout of E10 gasoline. The Council stands ready to support the Government of Vietnam and the Vietnamese industry in expanding protein production, dairy production and ethanol use,” Markey said.
Read more from USGBC here.