Annual Marketing Strategy Submitted to USDA/FAS

June 20, 2017
Posted in: News

USDBC has submitted its 2018 Unified Export Strategy (UES) to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) requesting $2.2 million in export promotion funding. While we won’t have news regarding our actual funding levels for several months, there are new dynamics impacting our global outlook for the next year. One thing that hasn’t changed is the success of our long term public/private partnership with USDA/FAS helping U.S. dry bean growers, producers, processors, and traders increase the consumption of U.S. origin dry beans around the world.

While continuing with our market development efforts in several new and emerging markets this year’s strategy reflects a stronger trade policy focus in several key markets, particularly in the Americas to address an uptick in new trade concerns. We are also increasing our efforts to establish a foothold in both Brazil and India, two new emerging markets that are extremely sensitive to prices and crop conditions and where the path forward remains challenging. We continue to press forward with creative new uses for dry beans including dry bean ingredients for snack foods and desserts in Southeast Asia and Central America. There are many exciting new global opportunities in 2018 but in addition to a complicated trade policy environment we are aware that now more than ever, we have to continue to communicate the value of the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) that fund our global export development work. Both of these programs have been proposed for elimination under the President’s FY 18 proposed budget. While we know that we have allies in Congress who understand the value of these programs, we must continue to communicate their value to keeping our farm economy healthy. We thank USDA/FAS for their continued support of our programs and look forward to many more years of successful export promotion.


The MAP program funds critical export development initiatives in key markets such as the Mexico Bean Congress, pictured here.