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, the company held various webinars and a 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 hosted Justin Sherrard, global strategist (animal protein) at Rabobank, to discuss the current situation in the swine market and the 2021 outlook.

The webinar was held in two sessions to allow a global audience to attend. It focused on the impact of African swine fever (ASF), COVID-19, trade disputes and sustainability of animal protein markets around the world. After a lively discussion with the participants, the 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 also invited Joe Kerns to speak on current and expected market developments. He highlighted that US swine numbers are decreasing with ongoing sow liquidation. However, domestic demand for pork continues to be strong just like export volumes. That leads to cautious optimism about market hog prices and a return to profit for pork producers in 2021.

Jim Wiesemeyer shared insights on the agenda of US presidential candidates for the country's 2020 election and, more specifically, on their policies for the agriculture industry.

In Germany, Hamlet Protein organised a small-scale Feed Your Brain seminar. The seminar focused on young animal nutrition in both swine and poultry.

The attendees discussed the impact of recent ASF cases, ban on exports of German pork to China and COVID-19's impact on the German swine industry.

In a discussion about sustainability, Dr. Kampf from DLG highlighted the continued dependence on soy imports for feed production in Germany.