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statement by Christopher Goldthwait 



Acting General Sales Manager 



Foreign Agricultural Service 



U.S. Department of Agriculture 



Before the U.S. House of Representatives 



Subcommittee on Foreign Agriculture and Hunger 



March 30, 1993 



Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to 



discuss the agricultural situation in the former Soviet Union and the U.S. 



Department of Agriculture's efforts to ensure food availability there. 



We have used a variety of programs to assist the former Soviet Union — credit 

 guarantees, food aid, and technical assistance. Today, I will focus my comments 

 on these efforts, and the other topics you have asked me to address: the 

 agriculture and food situation in the FSU, agricultural trade with the former 

 Soviet Union, and the future potential of these markets. 



I will first outline the importance of the former Soviet Union as a market 

 for U.S. agriculture. 



For a number of years, the former Soviet Union has been a major overseas 

 market for commercial sales of U.S. agricultural commodities, especially corn 

 and wheat, and in more recent years, soybean meal. 



To a large extent, credit availability, humanitarian assistance, and barter 

 agreements will continue to determine the former Soviet Union's agricultural 

 trade for the next few years, especially because of Russia's debt difficulties, 

 and the general economic situation in the region. 



