50 



Why these areas? Because they are rapidly Westernizing. More 

 women are entering the workplace, reducing the amount of time 

 available for meal preparation. Household size is smaller, allowing 

 consumer emphasis to focus on quality and variety, rather than on 

 quantity. The middleclass is growing rapidly, creating more dispos- 

 able income, and focusing attention on healthier, more convenient 

 foods. 



What products will these countries be looking for that we can 

 supply? They are: Fresh produce; frozen foods of all kinds, espe- 

 cially heat-and-eat microwaveable products — very important — proc- 

 essed meats; dairy products; and snack and gourmet foods. 



What do we need to do to access these markets? We need good 

 market research, pinpointing consumer trends, and aggressive 

 preplanning before entering markets in developing nations. We 

 need technical assistance for those companies that export and for 

 those countries that import to help both sides overcome artificial 

 barriers of language, custom and business practices which vary so 

 widely from one country to another. 



We also need strong support of flexible financial programs that 

 will help American companies maintain a strong presence long 

 enough to build product demand in new markets and meet the eco- 

 nomic needs of developing countries. The second area of concern 

 today is with our own trade policies as they relate to agricultural 

 exports. 



Are they sufficient? What initiatives should be undertaken? 

 First, I must emphasize that American agriculture did not put 42.5 

 billion dollars' worth of product in foreign markets last year be- 

 cause the system is broke. NASDA believes that there are suffi- 

 cient programs in place to access these markets if they are ade- 

 quately funded, properly directed and managed, and better planned 

 to meet future needs. 



I will give you just a few examples of what we mean. Budgets 

 for agri-industry export promotion and development programs and 

 staff are continually being reduced in the face of increasingly stiffer 

 and better funded foreign competition. As a result, American farm- 

 ers, ranchers, and food processors are losing part of the inter- 

 national market to countries with heavily subsidized export pro- 

 grams. Both Congress and the American public have lost sight of 

 the fact that agriculture goes beyond the farmgate. 



Farm products generate important economic benefits to factories, 

 to transportation, packaging, marketing, and related industries. It 

 all plays an important role in the Nation's economy. As a result, 

 the agricultural portion of the Federal budget is continually shrink- 

 ing. The Federal market promotion program, a very effective mar- 

 keting tool, should be revitalized to help participants meet new 

 global challenges aggressively, instead of cutting MPP and similar 

 programs or eliminating them completely. 



Among the policy actions we need, NASDA suggests several, in- 

 cluding a renewed focus on the development of a strategic long- 

 range plan for FAS activities to increase the export of food and 

 fiber, with special emphasis on matching products with potential 

 markets and on moving value-added products. 



A streamlining of administrative procedures for program coopera- 

 tors that will provide participants with timely responses to market- 



