The Blog

Photo of Dan Newhouse, Director, Department of Agriculture Dan Newhouse, Director, Department of Agriculture

10/05/10

It’s good to be back after our intense two-week trade mission to China and Vietnam. The jet lag certainly takes a toll and I don’t think I have ever appreciated Washington’s wonderful clean air more, but the trip is showing good return on investment. We can’t simply wait here for the phone to ring; we’ve got to be out there working to cultivate trading relationships that benefit our economy here at home.

Our agricultural trade mission included two dozen farmers, agricultural commission representatives and food exporters seeking to expand trade to these emerging markets. Our group, which was impressive in its own right, was only a part of the 100-member group also representing life sciences, clean energy, tourism and higher education industries in Washington. It was the largest and most diverse trade delegation ever to join a governor’s mission.

While there are some trade barriers preventing export of some of our food products to these countries, our focus on this trip was cultivating our relationships with distributors and retailers. Both China and Vietnam have been experiencing dramatic economic growth, even while our own economy is experiencing the worst business climate in decades. The emerging middle class in these countries have more resources to spend on imported foods, and we have the high-quality, safe, delicious commodities they are looking for. Plus, the American brand is very attractive to these increasingly savvy consumers. Our French fry promotions at KFC were a smash hit with the customers!

Our biggest breakthroughs, however, were with the major distributors in Guangzhou in southern China and Vietnam. I was amazed when I visited the largest wholesale market in all of China; the scale was staggering. We’re pressing for additional access for our commodities into these distribution channels that serve 500 wholesalers and hundreds of millions of consumers. In Vietnam, we were talking to retailers about the newly opened market for fresh potatoes, and we’ll be sending our first shipping container of Washington potatoes by the end of the year – with many more to follow. We’ll have some initial sales data to report in December. We were also pleasantly surprised when we learned that Washington cherries have attracted their attention. We’ll be doubling cherry exports to Vietnam next year, and our Fruit Commission expects a 500 percent increase in five years to more than $2.5 million in annual cherry exports to that growing nation.

The mission doesn’t end now that we’re back. Those contacts and conversations were just the beginning. Now we have to continue to deepen those relationships so that we deliver the concrete economic benefits and job growth created by expanding trade across the Pacific.