Ag Organizations Want Continued Market Development Funding

The Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports says farmers and rural businesses need continued investment in the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program. Those programs are necessary to make up for the lost export opportunities brought on by COVID-19 and fight foreign competition. The coalition sent a letter on that topic to House and Senate Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee leaders that was signed by 130 agricultural organizations. “Studies show these public-private programs provide a rate of return that far exceeds their public expense,” says Robbie Minnich, Coalition Chair and Senior Government Relations Representative with the National Cotton Council. “Our organizations are asking leadership to provide $255 million for Agricultural Trade Promotion and Facilitation apportioned under the Farm Bill, and from that amount, MAP should receive at least $200 million to promote agri-food products in China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico.” The coalition says fully-funded export programs are critical to helping U.S. farmers, ranchers, and food exporters keep pace with the rest of the world’s exporting countries.”