More Needs To Be Done To Promote Trade Of Oregon Ag

Much of the trade conversation now is on tariffs and trade wars, whether that’s with Canada and Mexico, the EU or China.  But once those tariff issues are resolved, is enough being done in D.C. under normal circumstances to promote trade of local farm products overseas.  Lisa Charpilloz Hanson, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture noted before this trade war that she wanted to see additional federal dollars devoted to building market access.

“We're really limited, in terms of state funding, for devoting state dollars for agricultural market access.  I think I would emphasize that back to that piece of Farm Bill, we rely heavily on our partners in the federal government to help us with that.”

Charpilloz Hanson said that the challenges Oregon has when it comes to increasing overseas trade are very similar to struggles for the other Northwest states.

“We have, you know, similar markets, there’s a lot of similar commodities," she said.  "And I think. working on that infrastructure piece for supply chain, and making sure that what we're producing is meeting the needs of our consumers of today.” 

In 2022, Oregon exported roughly $2 billion in ag goods, with wheat, beef, tree nuts and vegetables serving as key commodities.

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