The Administration, led by Secretary of Agriculture 

 John Block, has demonstrated very strong interest in 

 promoting US food and fiber in the world market. 

 The US Department of Agriculture has sent trade 

 teams to Africa, Asia, and South America in recent 

 months, opening doors for US. food and fiber These 

 teams, which wisely have included individuals from the 

 private sector, are identifying ways in which the fed- 

 eral government can be more effective in meeting the 

 needs of these markets. This special private-public 

 partnership will pay substantial dividends in future 

 years 



The formula for future success in the area of agri- 

 cultural exports appears to be dependent on a 

 number of factors. These include: 



(1) Public attitudes about the world market 

 At present, most Americans do not understand 

 the importance of exports to the state of the 

 American economy Without public appreciation, 

 the private sector will not achieve its full market 

 potential nor will public resources be effectively 

 or efficiently utilized 



(2) Roadblocks to entry to U.S. firms in the 

 world market 



A more full partnership between the private and 

 public sectors has to be developed m this area. 

 Trade restrictions and the use of export subsi- 

 dies must be curbed, reduced, then eliminated in 

 order that we achieve an open global trading 

 system 



(3) Effective use of public resources In agri- 

 cultural exporting 



At present, there is the need to assure more 

 careful cooperation and coordination between 

 state and federal levels of government in pro- 

 moting our products abroad This is essential in 

 an era of tight funding for all levels of govern- 

 ment Another area of concern relates to the 

 ability of the public sector to develop marketing 

 strategies in new markets, while assuring mainte- 

 nance of existing markets. Because of the com- 

 plexity of agricultural markets and diversity in 

 U.S. suppliers, the government must play an 

 active role 



(4) Need for export trading companies in 

 agriculture 



At present, the grain trading companies and 

 large export-oriented farm cooperatives are 

 doing an outstanding job servicing the interna- 

 tional market However, there needs to be an 

 effort made to provide smaller companies the 



economies of scale that are inherent in the trad- 

 ing company concept. These companies include 

 small packers and agricultural processors. We 

 need to learn from our global neighbors; the 

 Japanese and Germans have used trading com- 

 panies to penetrate markets throughout the 

 world. 

 While water and soil will be limiting factors in the 

 West's ability to export, the demand side of the equa- 

 tion looks bullish. The need for food and fiber should 

 continue to grow and our margins in comparative 

 advantage remain sizable. Our society has derived 

 considerable benefits from our agri-abundance and 

 the prospect for even more gains, especially if we can 

 add value to commodities such as wheat, are promis- 

 ing. Western states are geographically situated to 

 exploit some of the most promising markets — Indo- 

 nesia, Korea, Chile, Venezuela — as well as to ser- 

 vice one of our most vital markets, Japan. 



Table 1 — Agricultural Export Shares for Western 

 States from Fiscal Year 1981 



Million 

 States" Dollars Leading Commodities 



65 



