OTTAWA – American farmers are casting their hungry eyes at some southeastern Asian markets Canada has been working hard to develop.
And they would like their federal government to help them get a toehold.
A delegation from the American Farm Bureau returned last week from a tour of Vietnam and Indonesia with glowing reports and some demands.
Washington should send a trade-promoting ambassador to Vietnam, said the farm lobby, and the U.S. government should be willing to spend money to help develop those markets.
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“We need market promotion and market development programs to take full advantage of opportunities in southeast Asia,” farm bureau president Dean Kleckner said last week when he returned to Washington.
The size of these funds are in dispute in Congress now as the Senate and the House of Representatives negotiate the details of a new farm bill.
Canadian officials do not like the attention.
“These are not large markets, like Brazil or Japan or Mexico, but we like to pursue any market that is available,” said Agriculture Canada trade specialist Phil Jensen.
“So we take seriously any American talk about coming into a market we are in.”
Last year, Canada sold $101 million worth of food products to Indonesia, including $88 million worth of wheat.
Vietnam is just a starter market, buying $4.4 million worth last year and $7.4 million in 1994. However, both are countries with large populations and economies that are considered to be developing.
“I’m a little surprised that the Americans would be paying attention to these markets, since they are small compared to others, but they do have some potential,” said Jensen.
Kleckner said there is “tremendous” potential for sale of U.S. feed grains, wheat, cotton and high-value products in the region.
The emphasis is on Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populated country. “It’s huge and the economic growth rate is around seven percent a year.”
