US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service has awarded funding to more than 60 national agricultural organisations to help expand commercial export markets for American products.
'The Market Access and Foreign Market Development Programs help agricultural organisations representing thousands of producers and businesses open and grow markets for American products around the world,' Vilsack said. 'Exports create jobs and foster growth that is critically important for rural communities and our entire nation's economy.'
Through the Market Access Program (MAP), Foreign Agricultural Service partners with US agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, state regional trade groups and small businesses to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for US agricultural products and commodities.
The programme, which focuses on consumer promotion, including brand promotion for small companies and cooperatives, is used extensively by organisations promoting fruits, vegetables, nuts, processed products, and bulk and intermediate commodities.
Through MAP, the Foreign Agricultural Service will provide US$173.2m to 62 nonprofit organisations and cooperatives. Participants contribute an average 214 per cent match for generic marketing and promotion activities and a dollar-for-dollar match for promotion of branded products by small businesses and cooperatives.
The Foreign Market Development (FMD) Program focuses on trade servicing and trade capacity building by helping to create, expand and maintain long-term export markets for US agricultural products. Under FMD, also known as the Cooperator Program, the Foreign Agricultural Service will allocate US$26.7m to 22 trade organisations that represent US agricultural producers.
USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service partners with US agricultural producers and processors, who are represented by non-profit commodity or trade associations called cooperators. The organisations, which on average contribute nearly triple the amount they receive in federal resources, will conduct activities that help maintain or increase the demand for US agricultural commodities overseas.
USDA's international market development programmes have had a significant and positive impact on US agricultural exports. An independent study released in 2010 found that trade promotion programmes like MAP and FMD provide US$35 in economic benefits for every dollar spent by government and industry on market development.
The past six years represent the strongest period for US agricultural exports in the history of the country. Farm exports in fiscal year 2014 reached a record US$152.5bn and supported 1m jobs in the United States.
