Shoppers at a South Korean discount chain store pick fresh U.S. cherries during a promotional event called “Cherry Day” on July 2. Since the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (KORUS) went into effect in March, Korean retailers have seen sales of U.S. cherries rapidly increase, and in some cases, account for the top selling imported fruit. KORUS removed two thirds of the tariffs imposed on U.S. food and agricultural products exporting to South Korea.

It’s only been four months since the historic U.S.-Korea free trade agreement (KORUS) removed two thirds of the tariffs imposed on U.S. food and agricultural products exported to South Korea. But already, sales of U.S. fresh cherries are on the rise. The elimination of a 24-percent import duty on cherries – along with marketing support from the U.S. cherry industry and the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Seoul – is helping boost U.S. cherry sales in Korea to record levels. Read more »

Brothers Geert (left) and Jan Desmet (center), owners of Vinam, a California wine specialist company in Belgium, offer samples to guests at the March 7 wine tasting organized by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in cooperation with the Wine Institute. (Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Belgium)

While beer may be the beverage most associated with Belgium, people there are acquiring a taste for California wines, thanks to efforts by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the Wine Institute.

On March 7, FAS and the Wine Institute organized a wine tasting at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Brussels. In addition to showcasing 200 California wines, the event featured high-end beef and salmon hors d’oeuvres sponsored by the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Read more »

Tim Montz (right) of the Montz Pecan Company speaks with members of the Chinese media while displaying his Texas-grown products at the USDA-supported SIAL China food trade show in 2009. Participation in USDA events and export assistance from the Foreign Agricultural Service has helped international sales of Montz pecans thrive in recent years. Photo by Cindy Wise of the Texas Pecan Growers Association

In 2009 when Tim Montz first traveled to Shanghai, China, representing the Texas pecan industry, Montz had to explain what pecans were. Two years later, promoting pecans to China and other countries is “business as usual” for the father-and-son team of Tim and Jake Montz of the Montz Pecan Company. Read more »

Cattle ranchers and their herds tough it out during the cold winter. (Photo Credit: Ryan T. Bell)

U.S. cattle ranching has evolved over time to bring together the cultural traditions of the West with new technology to produce quality U.S. livestock products. But did you ever think that these ways of the west could benefit a new frontier halfway around the world?

In 2007, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) worked with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to negotiate health certificates for the export of U.S. livestock and genetic material to Russia. The protocol was signed in 2008, allowing first-time U.S. exports of live cattle, semen, embryos, horses and swine. U.S exports of cattle, bull semen and cattle embryos to Russia were valued at nearly $12 million in 2010.  From January to May 2011, trade increased nearly fivefold compared to the same period last year. Read more »

Members of the Wilbur family (from left to right) John Friend, Rick Wilbur, Richard Wilbur and Emily Friend, gather on their farmland in California’s Sacramento Valley. As the owners and operators of the Wilbur Packing Company, they have had great success exporting prunes and walnuts to international markets with assistance from the Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) export programs.

Little did the Wilbur family know when they first settled on a farm in the Sacramento Valley in 1869 that they were laying the foundation for what would become one of California’s premier prune and walnut producers. Read more »

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks at the National Export Initiative (NEI) “New Markets, New Jobs” tour in Milwaukee, Wis. on Aug. 3, 2011. The focus of the tour is to help small- and medium-sized businesses gain access to the resources they need to export their products internationally.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government kicked off the nationwide National Export Initiative “New Markets, New Jobs” tour designed to help connect small businesses with the resources they need to sell their products globally. Read more »