FAS announces funding for Market Access Program, Foreign Market Development Program

The Agriculture Department's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has awarded $202.4 million of its fiscal year 2022 funding to over 60 U.S. agricultural organizations to "help expand commercial export markets for U.S. goods," the agency said in a press release last Friday. 

FAS will provide $175.6 million to 67 nonprofit organizations and cooperatives through the Market Access Program, which focuses on consumer and brand promotion for commodities. Through the Foreign Market Development Program, which focuses on building trade servicing and trade capacity, $26.8 million will be distributed to U.S. trade organizations.

"The Market Access and Foreign Market Development programs benefit producers throughout the United States, building markets for a wide variety of U.S. farm and food products around the globe," FAS Administrator Daniel Whitley said in the release. "These programs play a significant role in supporting the U.S. agricultural industry that achieved record exports in 2021 and is projected to do even better in 2022."

According to the USDA's breakdown of MAP funding allocations, Cotton Council International and the U.S. Meat Export Federation were given the most funding, getting over $15 million and $13 million, respectively. The Food Export Association of the Midwest USA followed with an $8 million allocation, while the American Soybean Association and the U.S. Grains Council were each given around $7 million. 

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A look at FMD funding shows ASA as the largest recipient of that fund (about $6.7 million) with the U.S. Wheat Associates ($4.1 million) and Cotton Council ($3.9 million) also receiving some of the largest program sums. 

Citing an independent study, USDA said MAP and FMD were found to provide "$28 in export gains for every $1 spent by government and industry on market developments."

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