The State Regional Trade Groups
(SRTG) are four regionally located, non-profit trade development organizations
that help U.S. food producers and processors sell their products overseas.
The SRTG's are funded by USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the State
Departments of Agriculture and private industry They carry out promotional
activities that increase exports of U.S. high-value food and agricultural
products. Activities of the organizations are directed by the State Departments of
Agriculture, state agricultural promotion agencies, and coordinated with FAS'
Washington and country offices overseas, and include: International trade exhibitions,
overseas trade missions, reverse trade missions, export education, in-country research,
and point-of-sale promotions in foreign food chains and restaurants in markets around
the world. The SRTG's also administer a cost-share funding program called the Brand
program, that supports promotion of brand name food and agricultural products in
overseas markets. The SRTG's include: the Western U.S. Agricultural Trade Association
(WUSATA), in Vancouver, Washington,
the Mid-America International Agri-Trade Council, (MIATCO)
in Chicago, Illinois, the Southern U.S. Trade Association (SUSTA)
in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Food Export USA
(FoodExport USA
NE) in the Northeast.
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Program Successes
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In their first year of participation in WUSATA's Brand Program,
America's Classic Foods achieved a 25% increase in export sales. Export sales in the first
four months of 1999 already reached 60% of last year's volume, however the real value to
the company was establishing a market presence in China and making important contacts
in Asia.
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With the assistance of MIATCO's Brand
Program, export sales at Graceland Fruit Inc., a Michigan dried fruit producer, have
grown 225% since 1996. The company was one of two companies named Agricultural
Exporter of the Year in 1998 by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. In addition,
the company recently won the Michigan Manufacturers of the Year Award from the
Michigan Manufacturers Association.
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SUSTA's "Go South" promotion of fresh
produce has contributed to a remarkable 88% increase in total shipments from the
southern region to Canada's Ontario Province since beginning in 1998. Revenues
generated from these shipments have exceeded $85 million and are estimated to
approach $100 million in 1999. Supported by USDA's MAP, SUSTA's marketing and
promotion activities in the Toronto area plus export readiness training for shippers,
continue to boost exports of fresh fruits and vegetables from the southern United
States to Canada.
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Global Export Marketing Co., Ltd., an exporter of a wide line of processed products
including snack foods, condiments and sauces, used Market Access Program funds to
develop markets in several Middle Eastern countries. Through trade show exhibits,
in-store demonstrations, point-of-sale promotions, and advertising, they entered
several different markets in the region and substantially increased sales of branded
products by more than 500 percent to over $6 million annually from 1992 to 1999.
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Success stories of small exporters