Leaders from six state agriculture departments and 21 U.S. agribusinesses and organizations will accompany U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary Michael Scuse on a trade mission to Southeast Asia on March 9-13 to expand export opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products in one of the world's fastest-growing markets.
"U.S. agricultural exports to Southeast Asia have been on the rise thanks to strong economic growth and increasing demand for high-value products in the region," said Scuse, who leads USDA's Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services mission area. "With this growth expected to continue, the region holds significant untapped market potential for U.S. exporters."
"I am especially pleased to be traveling with a broad cross-section of U.S. agricultural interests who represent every region of the country and will help me showcase the quality, variety and abundance of farm and food products produced for export by the United States," Scuse said.
Scuse noted that the majority of participating companies are small- or medium-sized enterprises and many are owned by women, minorities and veterans.
The delegation will travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Manila, Philippines, and will also meet with potential customers from Burma and Thailand while in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia, the Philippines, Burma and Thailand boast a combined population of 262 million. As members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), these countries are already strong trading partners of the United States. U.S. exports of food and agricultural products to the four countries have doubled over the past five years, from $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $5.4 billion in 2014.
Mission participants include representatives from the Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia departments of agriculture.