USDBC Expands Global Promotion Budget Through New Grant Proposals

Every year USDBC relies on funding of around $1.2 million, from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) through the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) for the global promotion of U.S. dry beans. Over the years, USDBC has sought to expand this base funding through ancillary promotion funds also offered through FAS through the Emerging Markets Program (EMP) and the Global Broad Based Initiatives Program (GBI). Funding provided through these two sources allows for exploratory trade development activities in new markets and collaborative promotion and policy initiatives that encourage several related commodity groups to work together on mutually beneficial activities. To date, USDBC has relied on these two programs to fund numerous exploratory and joint activities throughout the Americas and Southeast Asia. Both EMP and GBI programs can run for multiple years contingent on diversifying focus and submitting renewal requests.

Talking to nutritionists and the press
as part of a Central America Emerging Markets Program

Currently, USDBC is implementing $1.6 million dollars worth of EMP and GBI programs throughout the Americas and Southeast Asia, in addition to the $1.2 million in MAP and FMD funding. This includes EMPs that began in 2013 and are still ongoing as well as over $500,000 of new EMPS funded in the 2017 – 2018 period. Two new GBIs for Southeast Asia were just approved and will bring additional budget, and there are new EMPs still in the queue waiting on funding decisions. These activities include among others; educational seminars for health professionals in the Mercosur region, a value added trade mission to the U.S. for bakers and companies in the CAFTA/DR region, and dry bean menu development in Southeast Asia. We thank FAS for their continued support of our drive to increase the consumption of our high quality dry beans around the world. We are excited for all of the new opportunities to expand our market presence.

Showcasing local and western bean based snacks in Indonesia as part a new EMP.