Sri Lanka, 2025’s largest market in the world for containerised US soybean meal, had its poultry sector honoured on the global stage recently, with several leading poultry producers and feed millers recognised among global sustainability leaders for their use of the Sustainable U.S. Soy and Fed with Sustainable U.S. Soy labels at Soy Connext 2026, the flagship summit of the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) in Chicago.
The three-day summit was held from August 5 to 7 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
The recognition came during a dedicated sustainability session at Soy Connext, which brought together a record 800-plus delegates from around the world, the largest turnout in the event’s history.
Sri Lanka’s poultry champions stood alongside honourees from the Americas, Greater China and Southeast Asia, marking one of the strongest showings yet for South Asia at the event.
Mark and Comm, the Colombo-based PR and communications agency, having worked closely with USSEC on Sri Lanka’s soy sector messaging, attended the summit as a media delegate and was present for the recognition.
USSEC CEO Jim Sutter opened the summit by framing the moment as part of a much longer arc. Independent forecasters project global import demand for soy climbing from 247 million metric tons today to 319 million metric tons by 2034, driven by GDP and population growth concentrated in regions, including South Asia, with the most room to add protein to their diets.
For Sri Lanka, that demand story has a distinctly local chapter. Sixteen Sri Lankan poultry producers and feed millers currently hold licences to carry the Sustainable U.S. Soy and Fed with Sustainable U.S. Soy labels, verified under the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP), putting Sri Lanka firmly among the countries leading adoption of the label in Asia.
New Anthoney’s Farms was the first company in the South Asia region to secure the licence in 2023, and has since become a reference point for USSEC when it talks about what sustainable sourcing looks like in practice.
Sri Lankan representatives also joined one of the summit’s sustainability panels, where the message was that sustainability and profitability are not competing goals. Producers spoke of the gains from adopting sustainable sourcing practices, and of the Sustainable U.S. Soy logo as a way to showcase that commitment directly to consumers, a visible marker of their dedication to climate action, high-quality nutrition and protein-rich feed sourcing.
The recognition builds on a year of accelerating institutional ties between Sri Lanka and USSEC.
The country remains the world’s largest containerised buyer of US soybean meal, importing roughly 255,000 tonnes in 2025, feeding an animal feed industry that now produces close to 1.3 million metric tons annually, with poultry as its largest customer.
Picture: Some of the poultry producers from Sri Lanka recognised as global sustainability leaders.
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