In the battle to secure fair access to global markets for California almonds, staff at the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) are essential allies. Keeping channels of communication open with foreign governments, reporting critical intelligence and facilitating market promotions are just a few ways FAS assists the Almond Board of California (ABC) in building demand as well as addressing regulatory and technical barriers for almonds.
From July 10-11, ABC President and CEO Richard Waycott, Vice President for Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs Julie Adams and Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs Principal Specialist Geoffrey Bogart attended the 39th Annual Attaché Seminar, hosted by the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council in Washington, D.C. This conference provides representatives from U.S. agricultural commodity groups the chance to sit down with ag attachés from embassies around the globe to review specific issues they face in succeeding overseas.
During the one-on-one sessions, ABC staff huddled with FAS attachés serving at posts in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Global tariffs, inspection levels in the EU and Japan, trade challenges in India and Turkey, new opportunities for ingredients in Russia and encouraging trends in emerging markets were among the topics addressed.
Adams has worked with FAS attachés for years and put their importance in perspective: “Our Foreign Ag Service partners are our eyes and ears on the ground in many global markets. They often help us maneuver through some very cumbersome bureaucracies to get the best results for our exporters.”
The conference sessions featured senior administration staff from USDA and the Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative. Topics covered included the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the US/Japan FTA negotiations, trade facilitation agreements and barriers to trade. Trade relations with China figured prominently during the conference, and Adams participated in a lively China panel session, discussing the challenges presented by regulatory requirements for non-governmental organizations including ag associations.
The high tariffs and the threat of more have impacted California almond exports to China, thus far, with a 25% reduction in shipments during the 2018-2019 California almond crop year.
For more information on ABC’s global regulatory efforts, please contact Bogart at gbogart@almondboard.com.
