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STATEMENT BY SHARON LX. C50L0N 



Mr, Chairman and members of the commincc, my name is Sharon Colon. I am a vice 

 president with CoBank- -National Bank for Cooperatives with responsibility for the bank's 

 relationships with North American agricultural exporters. 



CoBank is part of the Farm Credit System. The bank provides financial services to 

 farmer-owned cooperatives; rural utility systems-including electric, telecommunication, 

 water, and waste disposal systems; and to facilitate the export of U.S. agricultural products. 

 Over the past ten years, CoBank has fmanced $17 billion in export sales to over 40 countries 

 and involving about 30 agricultund products. To assist the bank's customers, we recently 

 opened an office in Mexico City--our first outside of the U.S. 



CoBank is the single most active lender participating in the £>epanmeQt of Agiiculture's 

 export loan guarantee programs. In recent years, we have accounted for about 40 percent of 

 all the guarantees issued under the GSM loan guarantee programs. With the exception of 

 CoBank. most agricultural expon fmancing for U.S. products is provided by foreign banks 

 with little or no long-term commitment to U.S. agriculture and litUe or no interest in the 

 long-term health of our nation's farm economy. 



Because of our deep involvement in agricultural expon activity, we applaud the efforts of the 

 administration and Congress to make our nation's export programs more effective. 



Frankly, CoBank is not in tiie best position to comment on specific changes being discussed 

 about tiie formal organizational structure of the government's export programs. However, 

 we believe certain principles»if applied properly-will ensure the successful operation of 

 these programs from the stand point of foreign purchasers and other parties. These 

 principles are as follows. 



• Credit programs should continue to be the cornerstone of our expon promotion 

 programs. The availability of credit has been a critical factor in helping make U.S. 

 agricultural products competitive in world markets. 



• The Department of Agriculture's expon program! should be viewed as a partnership 

 arrangement between nnners, exponers, shippers, lenders and foreign purchasers. In 

 this reganl, the administruiion's stated intent to make government more customer 

 oriented is welcome. 



• Any reorganization or consolidation of U.S.D.A. programs should take into account 

 the need for departmental sta£f in foreign countries to be knowledgeable and 

 conversant about our country's expon programs. In addiUon, that staff should be in 

 touch with developments in local markets and be positioned to help respond to new 

 developments-such as the privatization efforts taking place in Central Europe. 



• We believe there is considerable merit in continuing to maintain separate pro-ams 

 intended to expand agricultural markets. While it may be possible and even desirable 

 to coordinate U.S.D.A. programs with those of otiier departments, agriculture is a 

 unique industry with unique problems and opportunities. Further, agriculture's most 

 significant opportunities are mostly in developing countries which may be of lesser 

 interest to other domestic industries. 



EOjc/PB/264 



