Guillaume Smeets, Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health: “We are concerned over the ongoing trade barriers between the United States and China, and we urge both countries to constructively reach a responsible resolution. Cargill supports trade policies that facilitate the free movement of goods, services, and capital, and it is also Cargill’s fundamental belief that access to food is a basic human right, and that food should flow freely across borders and not be used as a political weapon.”

Interview by: Cemalettin KANAŞ

We interviewed Guillaume Smeets, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa at Animal Nutrition and Health business of Cargill, which is known as the “C” of the “ABCD” companies that dominate global agricultural flows. Underlining that they are continuing their activities in Turkey, Guillaume Smeets said that they maintain their commitment to the Turkish market despite some fragile aspects of the country's economy. Smeets' views on licensed warehousing which is recently becoming widespread in developing countries are also very positive: “Licensed warehousing will absolutely improve international and local trade. It provides producers with more access to credit or collateral and makes the market more formalized. This is possible anywhere where you have established storage space in a country.” The most striking part of the interview was the call on the trade war between the US and China. Smeets urged Washington and Beijing to unite around a common solution, particularly in the trade war, which was closely followed by those interested in the feed and food sector. "We are concerned over the ongoing trade barriers between the United States and China, and we urge both countries to constructively reach a responsible resolution. Cargill supports trade policies that facilitate the free movement of goods, services, and capital, and it is also Cargill’s fundamental belief that access to food is a basic human right, and that food should flow freely across borders and not be used as a political weapon," said the Dutch executive.

Could you please introduce us Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health? What would you say about your fundamental activities around the globe? Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health was established in 1893 and has more than 20,000 employees at more than 275 facilities in 40 countries. Fueled by our innovation and research, we offer a range of products and services to feed manufacturers, animal producers, and feed retailers around the world, helping put food on the plates of nearly one billion people around the world every day. Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health offers a range of compound feed, premixes, feed additives, supply chain and risk management solutions, software tools and animal nutrition expertise that is unmatched in the industry.

As a global company, which regions do you focus on? What would you say about your target markets? We have a truly global presence and global focus, with 275 facilities in 40 countries around the world in all major markets. In the Middle East and Africa region, we have our main production facilities in Turkey, Jordan and South Africa. In Jordan, we recently opened a state-of-the-art animal nutrition lab and premix factory that is fully automated with the newest technology.

Cargill is known as the “C” of the “ABCD” companies that dominate global agricultural flows. What makes Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health different from its competitors? We go beyond selling just products. We look at the challenges that our customers face, and we support them in turning those challenges into opportunities together. We understand their needs and translate this into a solution that consists of different elements: training/education, product offering, nutrition and health management and farm management support so that their long-term needs can be met and that they are ready for the future.

The feed sector is well aware of the protein deficit and looking for both traditional and alternative solutions. What do you want to say about alternative protein sources such as insects as feed? We understand that the planet has finite resources and believe that it is our job to find innovative feed options for our customers that will protect the planet while supporting sustainable protein production. We are therefore encouraging the emergence of several alternative ingredients which will enable a growing feed and food industry.

Feed Planet readers already know that you agreed to jointly market fish feed which includes insect protein with French InnovaFeed. What else do you want to say about this project? We feel our partnership with InnovaFeed fits perfectly into Cargill’s long-term strategy. Cargill and InnovaFeed have a shared purpose: offering innovative, sustainable solutions to meet the nutritional needs of our growing population and our customers. With a population that is growing exponentially and finite resources on our planet, Cargill is proactively looking for alternative feed ingredients and new proteins to feed the world.

In relation with my last two questions, what is Cargill’s stance on ‘beyond the meat’ concept? The global demand for animal protein over the next 30 years is projected to increase by 50%. It will take all of us working together to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population. So, we’re investing significantly in traditional animal protein and, at the same time, making targeted investments in plant-based and cultured protein. Our priority remains helping our livestock, poultry, aqua and dairy customers thrive.

Licensed warehousing has been making progress and becoming more widespread in some developing countries such as Turkey in recent years. How do you think this will affect local and international agricultural trade? Licensed warehousing will absolutely improve international and local trade. It provides producers with more access to credit or collateral and makes the market more formalized. This is possible anywhere where you have established storage space in a country. Is it happening fast enough? Zambia has been trying to do this for some time now and still not able to. There might be an opportunity for this to happen faster if it is done privately in countries and not just via governments.

We have been witnessing a trade war between the USA and China for more than a year and it seems to escalate in the continuing period. Farmers from the third-party countries (such as Brazil, Ukraine and Russia) seem to enjoy the consequences for the time being. How did this trade war affect Cargill and other global commodity traders? How do you think this trade war will end up? We are concerned over the ongoing trade barriers between the United States and China, and we urge both countries to constructively reach a responsible resolution. Cargill supports trade policies that facilitate the free movement of goods, services, and capital, and it is also Cargill’s fundamental belief that access to food is a basic human right, and that food should flow freely across borders and not be used as a political weapon.

As Feed Planet magazine, we are also in contact with Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health’s Turkey branch. How would you evaluate your business in Turkey as well as the neighboring countries? The Turkish economy has some areas that are fragile, which we cannot influence. As a business, we are looking at what we can influence and that is focusing on a sustainable future for our customers. Together with our customers, we are looking into how we can turn the challenges they face into opportunities to make them fit for their future, with a special focus on digital capabilities and health technologies. We are very committed to the Turkish market now and in the future!

I have recently heard that you have made a small change in the name of your animal nutrition business. What will we call you from now on? What is the reason lying behind this change? We’ve renamed our business Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health, and merged our compound feed and premix businesses into a single animal nutrition group. By leveraging the expertise and strengths of these two businesses, we will be better able to provide an integrated customer experience across species, and access to all of our capabilities, talent and support in a more streamlined and agile way.

The animal nutrition business is taking a bold step to reinvent itself as a new organization, and it’s a pivotal time to signal that we are a different enterprise focused on expanded possibilities. We want a name that reflects who we are today and recognizes where we’re headed tomorrow. We’ve added the word ‘Health’ to our enterprise name to reflect our focus on the work we are doing and the investments we are making in this key growth area.