Industry leaders express support for new USDA export promotion program

Industry associations are expressing support for the USDA’s announcement of a new export promotion and foreign market development program.

The USDA will use the Commodity Credit Corporation to establish a Regional Agricultural Promotion Program and expand federal procurement of U.S. agricultural products aimed at bolstering specialty crop exports and addressing food insecurity globally, according to a news release.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release that the agency is providing $2.3 billion to help American producers maintain and develop markets for their commodities and use U.S. commodities to bolster international food aid.

The USDA is using funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to address challenges related to trade and food insecurity impacting U.S. farmers and the international community, consistent with a bipartisan request from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the agency said in a news release.

USDA says it will use:

• $1.3 billion for the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program and support for specialty crop industries to diversify export markets.
• $1 billion to help address global hunger.

“The Commodity Credit Corporation continues to address the needs of American producers as significant and unpredictable challenges arise, including impacts to international commodities markets and global food insecurity in the wake of ongoing conflict and a changing climate,” Vilsack said in the release. “The Commodity Credit Corporation and USDA’s market development and aid programs are critically important at this time, and with this additional support we can strengthen U.S agriculture’s presence in existing markets, open up new market opportunities, and build on our relationships and connections to ensure that high-quality American agriculture and food products reach where they are needed in the world.”

The USDA said the new $1.3 billion investment in a Regional Agricultural Promotion Program will enable exporters to break into new markets and increase market share in growth markets. Further, an investment in providing targeted technical assistance to the specialty crops industry will help it enter and expand markets that often impose onerous non-tariff barriers on their products, the USDA said.

Five years ago, in reaction to the trade war with China, USDA developed the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program to help exporters diversify their markets. The USDA said funds from the program will expire next year, and with that, many exporters are already curtailing their activities.

Without being on the ground in markets, it is nearly impossible to build the trust and relationships needed to create opportunities, the USDA said

“The RAPP will address this critical loss and ensure continuity of the relationships key to market development,” the USDA said.

“Today’s policy announcement reinforces a growing understanding of the need for the produce industry to expand markets and for people across the globe, including Americans, to have better access to healthy, delicious fruit and vegetables,” the International Fresh Produce Association said in a statement.

“IFPA appreciates Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and ranking member John Boozman, R-Ark., urging the secretary to use his CCC authority to promote new markets for U.S. producers and products, and to boost in-kind food assistance," IFPA continued in the statement. "While safeguarding long-standing programs that ensure stable trade-related support, we look forward to working with our sector allies to help USDA design these programs to amplify existing efforts aimed at expanding markets and global consumption of U.S.-grown specialty crops.” 

The Washington Apple Commission said in a news release that the new program will allow the group to continue the work of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program that was put into place during the Trump administration. The Agricultural Trade Promotion Program was designed to help mitigate the damages from the additional trade tariffs on imports.

The Regional Agricultural Promotion Program will provide additional program funds in the absence of a new farm bill and will allow Washington apple growers to create trade opportunities through the growth of new markets around the globe, according to the release.

The USDA tells appropriators that the program will “target activities toward countries indicating increased demand for high quality and high-value agricultural products while helping … to ensure that the work started with the existing Agricultural Trade Promotion Program … can continue.” 

The Washington Apple Commission said the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program was excellent news for all commodity groups, who have been trying to increase the available Market Access Program funds through the farm bill.

Funding for the Market Access Program has remained stagnant at $200 million for more than 15 years, the release said. The Agricultural Trade Promotion Program allowed the Washington Apple Commission to focus on social media and digital marketing strategies at a higher level that would not have been possible without the funding, the commission said in the release. The commission said tailored in-country platforms were established, which allowed it the opportunity to educate and reach more consumers while also being able to connect online activities to on-the-ground activities; this in turn helped drive consumers into retail, according to the commission.

Agricultural Trade Promotion Program funds also helped the Washington Apple Commission collaborate with key opinion leaders on social media, leveraging the existing trust consumers have in influencers, the release said. The new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program funds give the Washington Apple Commission the opportunity to continue and build on the success of these strategies that have been put into place over the past five years, according to the release.

“We are thrilled to hear the announcement of the new export promotion program,” Lindsey Huber, international marketing manager for the Washington Apple Commission, said in the release. “Funding from the Market Access Program has been essential to our success over the years, and the introduction of ATP funds provided additional opportunities to promote Washington apples in new and even more exciting ways. We’re eager to continue the work we started with the ATP program and believe RAPP will allow the Washington Apple Commission the opportunity to further promote Washington apples in our export markets.”