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