Frequently Asked Questions
The Minority Exporter Training Program (MET, formerly the Export Readiness
Training Program), was established in 1999 in response to the lack of export
training that existed for under-represented members of the U.S. agricultural
community. FAS’s Emerging Markets Program and SUSTA, the Southern U.S. Trade
Association (one of the State Regional Trade Groups, or SRTG), worked together
to develop a formal, systematic training program to provide small minority- and
women-owned companies in the Southeastern United States with their first export
success. Because of geographic proximity, the Caribbean and Central and South
America were the targeted markets. To date, the program has been conducted in
eight states in the Southeast: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, South
Carolina and Texas, and so far 70 percent of the training "graduates" have
either exported product themselves or have participated in an export activity,
e.g., a trade show or trade mission, suited to their product and business.
The model has proved so successful in the Southeast that a similar training
program has been undertaken in California, again targeting minority producers
and processors, and a new program is in operation in Hawaii. In both of these
programs the partnership has been between FAS and another of the SRTGs, WUSATA,
the Western U.S. Agricultural Trade Association.
Co-managed and administered by the Emerging Markets Program and the State
Regional Trade Groups, the MET program has proved its value in reaching a sector
of the U.S agricultural economy that has had little opportunity or experience
with export markets. The program uses a hands-on, face-to-face training approach
that allows discussion, feedback and exchange of ideas between instructors and
trainees not possible through online courses. This has proved to be one of the
program’s strengths. Joint management of the Program by FAS and the SRTGs
allows, even encourages, the participation of other organizations in the
recruitment and training processes. One of the critical benchmarks of the MET
program is that at least 70 percent of the companies chosen to participate in
any given state’s MET program must be minority- or women-owned companies.
The Emerging Markets Program assumes administrative oversight of the program,
and its resources are used to help pay for training materials and the costs of
recruiting and screening program candidates. Expenses such as travel and meals
are the responsibility of the individual participant, as is a small charge for
participation. The SRTG, in coordination with other appropriate organizations in
its region, organizes and conducts the training program. Training is usually
conducted by a third party contractor, such as universities, Small Business
Development Centers in a given state, an appropriate World Trade Center, or
state departments of agriculture. The role of the state departments of
agriculture is crucial to the program’s implementation. Applications to the
program must include letters of support from the relevant state, and be
submitted through the SRTG responsible for the appropriate region.
The MET is open to small socially and/or economically disadvantaged
agribusinesses as defined by the Small Business Administration as they prepare
to become exporters of U.S. agricultural products. Products represented by
prospective trainees (all but tobacco are eligible) must be processed food
products and products from agriculture-related industries and of at least 50
percent U.S. origin. Individual farmer producers are most appropriately involved
in the program through cooperatives.
To qualify, applicants must be minority or women-owned companies with: an
exportable U.S. food or agricultural product that is already available in the
domestic market; 500 or fewer employees for processors, or 100 or fewer
employees for brokers and distributors; three years worth of financial
information prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting
procedures; a minimum amount of domestic sales; printed marketing materials
already available for the product; less than one year of active exporting
experience; and a commitment to meeting the training and work requirements in
order to begin initial export operations.
Additional information is available from the Emerging Markets Program of FAS:
emo@fas.usda.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions