March 18, 2010

Ag exporters say partnerships, port and products give an edge

NORFOLK—Establishing partnerships among producers, marketers and customers is the key to operating a successful export business.

That’s what three business owners who sell products overseas said March 4 at the second annual International Agricultural Trade Workshop.

Organized by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, the Virginia Port Authority and Virginia Tech, the event was designed to explore the challenges and opportunities for expanded exports of agricultural goods.

“We got in the export business by establishing a partnership with an agribusiness firm and hiring people who know the business,” said Randy Day, senior vice president of business development for Perdue AgriBusiness. The company processes small grains and exports more than 2 million metric tons of its products annually. It also has an ongoing partnership with the Virginia Port Authority.

“I can’t say enough about the advantages we have with this port,” said O. Bryan Taliaferro Jr., part-owner of Montague Farms Inc., which exports 12,000 metric tons of food-grade soybeans to Japan and Eastern Europe annually.

The five shipping terminals in the Hampton Roads harbor area are an important part of exporting Virginia’s agricultural products, but so are the railroads and barge systems, Day said.

“In the past 10 years, we’ve moved more than 190 million bushels of grain via barges to the port,” he said. “As economic recovery comes our way, we need to look at the transportation infrastructure to support Virginia agriculture in continuing to have access to other markets.”

Another key to exporting goods is choosing competent partners and making sure the producer and customer understand each other’s expectations, said Shana Lawlor, president of Àlainn Exporting, an export management and consulting company in Arlington. She helps producers of gourmet, natural and organic products find international markets.

“There’s lots of political support of U.S. products [overseas],” Lawlor said. “But you must understand the customers.” For example, many residents of the United Kingdom don’t like cinnamon, so it wouldn’t be beneficial to sell them a product containing cinnamon, she said.

Lawlor said she foresees a bright future for exporting American agricultural products, but she recommended looking beyond Europe to China and Brazil. She also predicted that, if trade barriers are removed, there will be a rush to expand relationships with those countries.

Contact Spencer Neale, VFBF senior assistant director of commodity marketing, at 804-290-1153.