The United States Potato Board (USPB) received an allocation of $4,998,892 in program year 2015 Market Access Program (MAP) funds from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) at USDA. These funds will be used by the USPB to promote frozen, dehydrated, chip-stock, table-stock and seed potatoes in over 25 countries around the world. These promotions will be directed at foodservice, ingredient, retail and consumer sectors in the targeted markets, mainly in Asia and Latin America. MAP funds will more than double the $4 million in USPB funds applied to the international marketing programs. The reach and impact of the MAP and USPB dollars will be further expanded by roughly $1.5 million in Quality Samples Program (QSP), Emerging Market Program (EMP) and Technical Assistance for Specialty Crop (TASC) funds, which the USPB staff has obtained from FAS.
For the July 2013-June 2014 marketing year, the USPB used a similar combination of funds to help drive U.S. potato exports to a record value of $1.8 billion on record volume of 3,206,848 metric tons (MT), fresh weight equivalent (FWE). The U.S. potato industry faces a number of challenges in the international market place in the coming year. These include a strengthening dollar, increased competition from Europe and elsewhere, and the ongoing problems at ports on the West Coast. It will be more important than ever for the USPB to utilize these funds in an effective manner to increase demand for potatoes and potato products and to guard market share despite the aforementioned challenges.