44 JUNE 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL beside the point. What does matter is the remarkable return on FAS investment of U.S. taxpayer funds in developing agricultural export sales in foreign markets. A 2022 study estimated that return at $24 of exports for every $1 invested. FAS also invests in agricultural trade missions (ATM) that send U.S. companies to promising markets, combining immersive education for U.S. exporters with tailored business-tobusiness meetings. In 2024 the FAS ATM to Vietnam generated an estimated $31 million of sales from a total FAS investment of less than $300,000. The 2024 ATM to South Korea generated an estimated $68 million of U.S. agricultural export sales with an FAS investment of $500,000—that’s a better than 13,000 percent return on investment! In 2024 FAS offices across sub-Saharan Africa recruited 63 buyers from 13 countries for the first-ever FAS reverse trade mission (RTM) to the National Restaurant Show in Chicago, where U.S. exporters booked an estimated $21 million of sales from an FAS investment of just $450,000. Market Intelligence Free of Charge For a small or even a mid-sized U.S. company, exporting is a major undertaking, because selling products overseas is orders of magnitude more complicated than selling in the next state over back home. U.S. companies need their product (and all their packaging and marketing material) to connect with new customers across cultural, linguistic, and culinary gaps. And U.S. companies will not only have to comply with U.S. food safety rules but also demonstrate their products meet the export market’s rules. Exporting is not for the faint of heart, but thousands of U.S. food and beverage companies seek sales volume growth in foreign markets every year. And FAS on-theground expertise in those markets helps them succeed. FAS overseas staff write thousands of reports every year on agricultural export market developments, which are available free of charge on the FAS GAIN platform. These reports help U.S. businesses better assess their prospects for success and understand local market structures, consumer patterns, marketing trends, labeling laws, and so much more. FAS overseas staff also build relationships with the major local importers in foreign markets. FAS makes sure those buyers come to the U.S. exhibitors’ space at a trade show. FAS staff provide translation services and facilitate business-to-business meetings that lead to U.S. export sales. The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service is known as the eyes, ears, and voice of American agriculture overseas. American agricultural diplomats and their teams of dedicated local staff are on the ground, advancing American agricultural interests in every export market that matters. We’re keeping the lanes of trade open, and we’re helping U.S. companies reach their customers and their goals of greater export sales. FAS and its overseas offices are essential to the economic success of the American farmers, ranchers, producers, processors, and foresters they serve. n For a small or even a midsized U.S. company, selling products overseas is orders of magnitude more complicated than selling in the next state over back home. Dairy cows bred from American Brown Swiss cattle in front of Nicaragua’s Mount Momotombo during a U.S. Livestock Genetics Export, Inc., training and market development activity, 2023. COURTESY OF EVAN MANGINO
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