Page 59 - TEXtalks. November- December 2023

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Cotton Council

International applauds

USDA Funding for a New

Export Promotion Program

Cotton Council International (CCI) applauds the U.S. cotton industry contributions,” CCI Executive Director
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement Bruce Atherley said. “Differentiating U.S. cotton from
to allocate $1.3 billion in Commodity Credit Corpora- other countries’ cotton requires a long-term, sustained
tion (CCC) funds to a new Regional Agricultural effort, and additional funding would be indispensable in
Promotion Program (RAPP) to help non-profit U.S. continuing to support U.S. cotton growers by expanding
trade associations market U.S.-grown agricultural U.S. cotton export markets.”
products abroad.
“With the majority of the U.S. crop exported as either
“CCI’s objective is clear - increase long-term global fiber or yarn, the future of the U.S. cotton industry is
demand for U.S. cotton and U.S. cotton products - dependent upon increasing demand in overseas
markets,” Atherley concluded. “RAPP funding would
help us go even further in increasing global demand
for U.S. cotton and supporting American agriculture.”

RAPP would supplement the USDA’s longstanding
Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market
Development (FMD) Program. CCI and other agricul-
tural trade organizations use this funding to build
commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural
products and commodities (MAP) and create,
expand and maintain long-term export markets for
U.S. agricultural products (FMD.)

RAPP could also fill the agricultural export funding
gap that will be left when the Agricultural Trade
Promotion Program (ATP) ends Sept. 30, 2024. ATP
was created in 2018 to “help U.S. agricultural export-
ers develop new markets and mitigate the adverse
effects of other countries’ tariff and non-tariff barri-
ers,” according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS).

CCI is the No. 1 recipient of MAP funds and the No. 2
recipient of FMD funds in FY2023, evidencing its
ability to leverage its funding to provide tangible
benefits for the U.S. cotton industry. The United
Bruce Atherley. Executive Director. Cotton Council International States is the global leader in cotton exports by value,
and we could not achieve this goal without USDA with a 33% share of the global export market in 2021,
agricultural promotion funding and matching U.S. according to USDA, Economic Research Service.

November/December 2023