USDA seeks options for Asia

USDA seeks options for Asia

WASHINGTON (Reuters): Agriculture Undersecretary Gus Schumacher said Wednesday the Agriculture Department was exploring "several options" to maintain U.S. farm exports to South Korea and Southeast Asia.

In testimony for a House Agriculture subcommittee, Schumacher said options included additional export credits to South Korea later this year, PL-480 wheat sales to Indonesia and larger use of supplier credit guarantees to aid sales of high value products.

Schumacher and two other USDA officials produced a similar list following a tour of the region last month. USDA has offered $1 billion in credits to South Korea and $2 billion in credits to Southeast Asia.

In prepared testimony, Schumacher said USDA expected "little use of GSM" export credits in Indonesia in the short term.

Forty percent of U.S. agricultural exports, or $23 billion a year, go to East Asia.