USDA aides to travel to Asia next week<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (Reuters): Top U.S. Agriculture Department
\nofficials will visit a number of financially-troubled Asian
\nnations next week to get a first-hand view of current prospects
\nfor U.S. agricultural exports.<\/p>\n
Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Lon Hatamiya, now
\nin his fourth month on the job, is scheduled to arrive Tuesday in
\nThailand.<\/p>\n
He will also visit Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong,
\nSouth Korea and Japan before departing for the United States on
\nJan 24.<\/p>\n
USDA Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
\nGus Schumacher will join Hatamiya for the last five stops and
\nUSDA General Sales Manager Chris Goldthwait also will be along
\nfor part of the tour, aides said.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, USDA has taken a number of steps to bolster
\nU.S. agricultural exports to Southeast Asia and South Korea,
\nwhich remain in the grip of a financial crisis.<\/p>\n
On Dec 22, it offered South Korea $1.0 billion in loan
\nguarantees for purchases for U.S. farm goods. One week later, it
\ncleared the way for South Korea to begin using $400 million of
\nthe package.<\/p>\n
This week, it more than doubled the amount of credit
\nguarantees previously announced for Southeast Asia - Malaysia,
\nIndonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore - to $1.04
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
USDA initially forecast U.S. agricultural exports to South
\nKorea and Southeast Asia at $6.7 billion in fiscal 1998, up
\nmodestly from $6.4 billion in fiscal 1997.<\/p>\n
Buy on Dec 2, USDA lowered that projection by $500 million to
\nreflect the countries' reduced purchasing power as a result of a
\nsharp drop in the value of their currencies.<\/p>\n
In view of the countries' continuing difficulties, USDA
\nofficials have acknowledged that fiscal 1998 sales to South Korea
\nand Southeast Asian nations could fall below the current forecast
\nof $6.2 billion.<\/p>\n
At the same time, they note that South Korea and Southeast
\nAsia account for only about 10 percent of total U.S. agricultural
\nexports and strong sales to Mexico and Latin America could offset
\nsome of the decline in that region.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Hatamiya told Reuters recently, USDA is
\ndetermined to do what it can to maintain U.S. market share in
\nSouth Korea and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
The trip to Asia has been planned for some time.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/usda-aides-to-travel-to-asia-next-week-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }