USDA Trade Mission to Open New Doors for U.S. Agriculture in Northeast China

Contact: FAS Public Affairs, (202) 720-3448

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2014 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service today announced that Michael T. Scuse, under secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, will lead a mission to promote U.S. agricultural exports in northeast China May 5-13. 

“We’ve seen the strongest five-year period for U.S. food and agricultural exports in our history,” said Scuse. “This demand has a huge impact on the U.S. economy and our rural communities. USDA’s trade mission to China during World Trade Month will open new doors and help our farmers and ranchers capitalize on the tremendous export potential for American agricultural products."

The mission is part of President Obama’s Made in Rural America export and investment initiative, designed to help rural businesses and leaders take advantage of new investment opportunities and access new customers and markets abroad.  Leaders from state departments of agriculture in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Washington will participate in the mission, along with representatives from 28 U.S. agribusinesses.

China is already the largest international market for U.S. food and agricultural products, with exports reaching a record $23.5 billion last fiscal year. During the mission, the USDA delegation will travel to the northeastern provinces of Dalian, Shenyang and Changchun to learn about market conditions and business opportunities there.

With its rapidly growing middle class and a population roughly equal to that of Mexico, northeast China is an increasingly attractive market for U.S. agricultural exports. Buoyed by economic growth and urban development, the region’s agricultural imports have been soaring and outpacing the rest of the country in recent years. U.S. agricultural exports to the region have grown 18 percent annually since 2009 and demand for soybeans, red meat, dairy and sugar have all seen double-digit growth over the past five years. (See Northeast China: Prospects for U.S. Agricultural Exports.)

Participating companies represent a wide range of products, from fruits and vegetables, to livestock feed and seafood, to agricultural machinery and more. The delegation also includes representatives from the U.S. ethanol industry who will explore the role that renewable fuels might play in China’s long-term clean energy strategy.

U.S. Companies and Organizations Participating in the China Agricultural Trade Mission:

• Abengoa Bioenergy
• ACX Pacific Northwest
• AgWorld International
• Airfresh Seafood
• Case New Holland
• CHS, Inc.
• Commercial Lynks
• Cuba Beverage Company
• Dragonberry Fruit
• Food Export – Midwest
• Green Plains Renewable Energy
• Growth Energy
• Hagie Manufacturing
• K&B Seafood, Inc.
• KiamichiLink Ranch
• Lakeview Energy
• LaRocca Vineyards
• Marathon Ginseng International
• Missouri Rice Council/U.S. Rice Producers Association
• National Farmers Union
• Northwest Grains International
• POET, LLC
• Renewable Fuels Association
• Serac-Zafi
• Shaffer-Cedar Genetics
• U.S. Grains Council
• U.S. Soybean Export Council
• Western United States Agricultural Trade Association

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