Alexis Taylor, USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, announced funding for the first five projects under the new Assisting Specialty Crop Export initiative.
The ASCE initiative is designed to create more, new, and better markets at home and abroad for U.S. producers and agribusinesses. The partnership between USDA and the specialty crops sector will focus on projects to address non-tariff trade barriers that hinder U.S. exports of fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, horticultural crops, and related products.
“We’re excited to be accepting proposals from partners interested in implementing projects that will target cross-cutting issues that were identified in our discussions with a diverse set of stakeholders,†Taylor says. “Specialty crop exports totaled $25.8 billion last year, increasing the bottom line for our producers and driving economic development in local communities and beyond.â€
She also says the agency looks forward to expanding specialty crop exports and generating more benefits.
