ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US — The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) has been awarded $200,000 by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture to support increasing access to US animal food products globally in 2021.
The grant also elevates the AFIA to “cooperator” status, allowing the association to independently manage the US government funds beginning Jan. 1, 2021.
“We are appreciative of the USDA’s recognition of the AFIA as the industry leader in animal feed, feed ingredients and pet food trade,” said Constance Cullman, president and chief executive officer of the AFIA. “The US animal food industry has solutions that can help countries boost the efficiency and quality of their animal production practices and pet food diets in a sustainable way. Unfortunately, regulatory and policy constraints continue to block these products from competing fairly in many foreign markets. The AFIA looks forward to partnering with the USDA to address these trade barriers.”
Through MAP, FAS partners with US agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, state regional trade groups and small businesses to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for US agricultural products and commodities. The AFIA has received access to MAP funds through a third-party cooperator for the past two years to cover programs related to market access in China as well as to address international standards development.
The new funding will support AFIA’s International Trade Committee to develop US animal food industry priorities globally, including:
- Supporting work on continued implementation of the US-China trade agreement
- Educating foreign end-users and regulators on the importance of regulations
- and the advantages of US animal food products such as utility, safety and quality.
