Before and after the Ethanol Summit of the Asia-Pacific held this week in Minneapolis, visitors from more than 17 countries in Asia and Oceania have been able to tour farms and ethanol plants around the region.

Teams of producers, traders, government officials and business people have been on tours in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin, hosted by state corn organizations and local ethanol facilities, sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), which works to develop overseas demand for U.S. feed grains and their products, like ethanol.

The post-Summit tours included participants from China, Korea and Taiwan visiting Iowa; a team from India, Bangladesh and the Philippines visiting Kansas; participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam visiting Nebraska; and a team from Australia, Myanmar, Pakistan and New Zealand visiting Wisconsin.

The summit, hosted with Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association, offered participants access to high-level U.S. ethanol industry members and extensive information on how ethanol is used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), improve air quality, and provide economic benefits to ethanol stakeholders.