Recognizing an opportunity to increase bread consumption, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and other U.S. FAS cooperators, with excellent support from FAS staff posted in Taiwan, have developed a "healthy baked goods and steamed bread promotion" as a Global Broad-Based Initiative project under the Market Access Program.

USW is demonstrating upside sales potential for a large food company in a growing market category: artisan bread made with flour from U.S. wheat.

On-going activities in cooperation with USDA/FAS and other agencies helped U.S. Wheat Associates facilitate for U.S. wheat access to the Egyptian market.

Sales of U.S. soft white and hard red spring wheat increased even while the major river tributary to Asian market export facilities was closed.

A Success Story regarding the US Dry Bean Council Trade Mission to Slovenia in May 2011 and the sale of US pinto beans that took place afterwards as a direct result.

CCI China/Hong Kong’s “Naturally Connecting the World” campaign linked COTTON USA to all stakeholders during a three-phase program from September 2010 to May 2011.

The 2010 COTTON USA Special Trade Mission from Bangladesh and Pakistan brought eight cotton buyers on a tour of seven locations throughout the Cotton Belt to give them a thorough introduction of the U.S. cotton industry.

COTTON USA’s trade and promotional services throughout the cotton blanket supply chain in China has led to increased U.S. cotton sales.

The weeklong COTTON USA Supply Chain Marketing (SCM) Buyers Tour to Bangladesh enabled buyers to meet with leading Bangladeshi suppliers of U.S. cotton-rich garments. The Buyers Tour attracted buyers representing British, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Turkish and U.S. brands and retailers. The participating retailers have a combined buying volume of over a billion dollars.

Cotton Council International’s (CCI) promotion of cotton in China, in coordination with Cotton Incorporated and the National Cotton Council of America (NCC), and its partnerships with Chinese government stakeholders have solidified U.S. cotton’s position as the No. 1 fiber imported by Chinese textile mills.

USDA Foreign Market Development program cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) recently reported that Nigeria is the ultimate success story for the U.S. wheat industry and its longstanding partnership with FAS’s MAP and FMD programs. USW’s long-term presence in Africa, market research, and strategy targeting the local milling industry led to opening an office in Lagos in 2001. With more than $2.5 million in MAP and FMD funds invested since then, USW has worked collaboratively with leading Nigerian millers to develop the local market for products made with U.S. wheat flour and semolina. Through this collaboration, U.S. wheat sales to Nigeria have reached nearly $3.5 billion over the same period. Through USW’s technical assistance and trade servicing, Nigeria has imported all six U.S. wheat classes, generating income and jobs in all 19 wheat-producer member states. The United States still dominates Nigeria’s wheat import market, with close to a 90 percent market share, despite increased price competition from Canada and the Black Sea region. Nigeria was the United States’ largest wheat export market in the 2009/10 marketing year (June-May), with an average annual purchase valued at about $660 million from 2005 to 2009.

Foreign Agricultural Service cooperator U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is using the Quality Sample Program (QSP) to help increase sales of hard red spring (HRS) wheat grown by farmers in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, and to help build a potential market for soft white (SW) wheat grown in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

Driven by water use concerns, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia implemented a plan in 2008 to eliminate domestic wheat production, thus creating an export market of 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) or more. U.S. wheat was in a good position to participate in this new market because experienced staff at U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), with funding from the Foreign Market Development program, had maintained contact with Saudi grain officials through the years.

Thanks to a recent change in Egypt’s cotton import policy, future U.S. Upland and Pima cotton exports to Egypt could reach 500,000 bales.

Five of CCI’s retail companies made purchases of textiles equal to over 610 bales of U.S. grown cotton, with current values exceeding $300,000, during the 2010 COTTON USA Buyers Tour to China.

The third COTTON USA Cotton School in China positively impacted sales of U.S. cotton.

After just one year of partnership, COTTON USA and Italian brand and retailer Original Marines have managed to boost both sales and visibility for U.S. cotton in Italy.

The COTTON USA Western Hemisphere Trade Fair, held June 15-17 in Mexico, developed business for increased U.S. cotton yarn and fabric exports to the Western Hemisphere.

In 2010, USMEF took advantage of the competitive pricing of U.S. beef middle meats by aggressively working to expand the presence of U.S. steak on Japan’s restaurant menus. Many well-known traditional hotels including Hotel New Otani, Hotel Okura and Teikoku Hotel started regularly featuring U.S. beef products on their restaurant menus. Stimulated by this move, several other leading regional hotels such as Nikko Hotel Osaka and Kyocera Hotel also decided to introduce U.S. beef. At the same time, USMEF worked with national and regional retailers to promote loin cuts to upgrade the quality of their beef offerings. USMEF expanded its reach to new regional markets dominated by Aussie beef, actively promoting U.S. beef in Western Japan (including Kinki, Shikoku, Chugoku and Kyusyu), a high beef-consuming area and potential growth market for U.S. beef products. As a result of USMEF’s educational activities and promotional support, almost all major regional retailers in the Chugoku and Shikoku areas are now selling high quality U.S. beef at their outlets. To take advantage of new opportunities in the growing convenience store sector, USMEF capitalized on the popularity of “Bento Box” lunches and other consumer items to introduce U.S. beef into large chains including 7-Eleven and Circle K Sunkus. Nearly 13,000 Japanese 7-Eleven convenience stores have participated in U.S. beef bento box promotions that prominently feature the USMEF “We Care” logo identifying the product as American beef. The ongoing commitment by 7-Eleven to continue promoting the U.S. beef bento boxes has boosted it to the fourth most popular bento item across the entire CVS sector in Japan, selling an estimated 30 million U.S. beef bentos in 2010.

In 2010, Lotte Mart, the third-largest retail chain in South Korea, launched sales of U.S. T-bone steaks at 85 locations across the country following USMEF’s aggressive tactics to lay the groundwork for this new product offering. This introduction of T-bones demonstrates the traction U.S. beef is regaining in Korea and underscores that consumer acceptance of U.S. beef has become much more widespread as the result of USMEF’s positive imaging campaign, aggressive promotion and collaborative efforts with suppliers, importers and retailers. A combination of USMEF activities, including educational seminars and a buyer team to the U.S., prompted Lotte Mart’s key decision makers to promote new U.S. beef cuts, including bone-in items, and expand the U.S. share of their imported beef section. During the promotional launch in July 2010, Lotte Mart reported that sales of T-bones reached approximately 4.5 mt, with U.S. beef tenderloins and striploins also performing well. As a result, Lotte Mart continued to focus on increasing sales of U.S. beef cuts, not only featuring U.S. T-bones, but also U.S. tenderloins and striploins. By the end of 2010, Lotte Mark was regularly stocking six chilled U.S. beef cuts and eight frozen beef items, dedicating 30% of its imported beef section to U.S. products, an 8.7% increase in U.S. beef’s share of Lotte Mart’s beef sales.

The modern supermarket is a fairly new concept to many regions of Mexico, but its growth has been tremendous and this has given USMEF a great opportunity to position U.S. pork as a high quality, consumer-friendly protein. These efforts are paying off. One of the keys to the remarkable success has been the relationships USMEF has developed with supermarket personnel. USMEF has worked to expand the reach of U.S. pork in regional and national retail chains with seminars designed to educate staff on the availability, proper handling and merchandising of U.S. pork, and promotions that demonstrated the profitability of actively marketing U.S. pork to their customers. (see full story for examples)

After attending a USMEF culinary seminar and promotional event in June 2010, which attracted more than 220 guests representing the Filipino food industry, a major Philippine importer began selling an expanded range of U.S. pork. The company was impressed with the outstanding sales performance of its U.S. pork collar trimmed butt to foodservice accounts. The exposure this cut received during the June event played an important role in presenting U.S. pork to a large audience of foodservice professionals and encouraged a number of chefs to try the imported U.S. pork cut in place of the domestic product they normally source. This importer also began exploring U.S. pork belly for both foodservice and retail. USMEF was able to add to its network of target accounts in this fast-growing market as a result of this activity. Key traders advised that they began importing the cuts of U.S. pork featured during the training session and these products were moving well. USMEF also hosted two highly-productive buyer teams from the ASEAN in 2010 which allowed 26 decision makers representing 23 leading meat importers, traders and processors from across the region the opportunity to view the processing and fabrication of U.S pork and discuss business opportunities. Most of the team members were first-time participants though some had already been importing U.S pork. Results from the trips include the following: one importer from Singapore purchased its first container load of U.S. pork while another company expanded its range of U.S. pork to include processed items introduced during the trip; an importer from the Philippines became a consistent purchaser of U.S. pork (including variety meat) since the trip; one importer from Indonesia increased its volume of U.S. processed pork and expanded into muscle cuts; a Vietnamese importer increased its volume of U.S. pork muscle cuts; and a trader from Thailand began importing U.S. process pork items. USMEF buyer teams from Australia and New Zealand also provided 11 key decision makers representing 10 companies first-hand expose to U.S. pork production. In addition to visits made to processing plants where valuable business contacts were established, team members attended a three-day Pork 101 session. The team also made several retail store visits to gain a better understanding of how pork products are marketed in the U.S. and to observe retail store trends outside of their own country. An estimated 5,000 mt of U.S. pork was imported as a result of these trips and all participants reported that they have since continually utilized U.S. pork as a raw material in their production.

Total US potato and potato product exports reached a record $1,350,213,480 and 1,366,649 metric tons for the July 2010 _ June 2011 fiscal year. This is a 15 percent jump in value and an 11 percent hike in volume. On a fresh weight equivalent basis this represents more than 59 million hundredweight of fresh potatoes exported or approximately 16 percent of US production.

Nearly 700 restaurant outlets in Malaysia began serving one or more US frozen potato products last year as a direct result of USPB marketing. These included six new channels such as Chinese restaurants and a home delivery service. As a result, US market share climbed from 69% to 77%. US exports to Malaysia leaped 27% to 27,534 MT, with value up 24% to $26 million during MY 2010/11.

When early efforts to market US dehydrated potato products in the Philippines to major food manufacturers encountered reluctance, the USPB shifted tactics: build momentum for the product via small, innovative companies. It refocused efforts first on the bakery sector, then expanded last year to the foodservice and smaller food manufacturing sectors, increasing the number of channels in which US dehy is used and creating new product applications. During MY 2010/11, gains in these sectors had a powerful result: US exporters sent $8.3 million worth of dehy to this market. Exports climbed to 5,026 MT, up from 1,429 MT valued at $2.8 million the previous year.

During the July 2010 - June 2011 marketing year, seed potato exports increased 24% to 23,428 MT valued at $11.6 million, according to USDA data. However, since exports of fresh potatoes are often incorrectly categorized as seed in Department of Commerce statistics, it is misleading to analyze these figures too closely.

It is a valuable achievement when the USPB can help open new doors for the U.S. potato industry—but the achievement becomes all the more meaningful when it can be done while helping others in need.

The USPB’s new program in Vietnam began on a high note after two restaurant chains were convinced to carry U.S. frozen potatoes.

The USPB continues to make headway with the traditional distribution channel of QSRs, with the success of events like the “Burger and Fries Festival” in the Philippines.

Taking advantage of the popularity in Mexico of the Soccer World Cup, Domino’s Pizza introduced a “U.S. Potato soccer ball” that was a huge hit with customers.

The USPB continued to develop an innovative new marketing channel in the Philippines—bulk frozen potatoes offered at retail.

A series of workshops organized by the USPB for private voluntary organizations continues to yield results for the inclusion of dehydrated potatoes into food assistance programs.

A determined marketing effort in Thailand enabled U.S. frozen potato exporters to hold onto sales even as U.S. products were placed at an unprecedented disadvantage versus the competition. U.S. frozen potato exports to Thailand posted 1% growth to 9,529 MT in MY 09/10. By value, exports rose 4% to $9.2 million during the year.

Freshly prepared U.S. fries used to be a hallmark of restaurants only. However, by targeting the in-house deli of major Malaysian retailers over the past three years, the USPB has created momentum for a whole new sales channel. As a result, the concept of offering Ready-To-Eat (RTE) fries in retail delis continues to spread, this year reaching outside the supermarket segment to two new channels.

The MY 09/10 program in Indonesia positioned U.S. dehydrated potato products for future growth by expanding the number of importer/distributors from one to two and opening up new channels for growth.

Technical assistance provided to one of Thailand’s leading food manufacturers resulted in the country’s largest doughnut chain introducing a doughnut made with U.S. dehydrated potatoes in April 2010. Dunkin’ Donuts unveiled its “All American Doughnut” during the grand opening of its new flagship store in Bangkok’s Siam Paragon. The doughnut uses 7.5% U.S. dehydrated potato granules to produce a softer, moister doughnut.

Sales of U.S. frozen potatoes to Central America got a boost when trade seminars and training conducted by the USPB spurred participants to change their purchasing habits in favor of U.S. product. Follow-up with seminar participants showed that five restaurants and importer/distributors in five countries either switched to U.S. frozen potatoes, upgraded their specifications or expanded to new products in MY 09/10 after attending USPB training.

Record exports to Indonesia belie the difficult challenges facing U.S. frozen potato exports to this market. U.S. exports jumped 41% to 11,643 MT and 29% to $9.9 million in MY 09/10—168% higher by volume and 204% higher by value compared with their level just five years ago.

Pizza customers in Japan now have a variety of nutritious new menu options made with U.S. frozen potatoes. During MY 09/10, the USPB worked with pizza delivery companies to convince four chains to carry and then promote new U.S. frozen potato items.

U.S. dehydrated potatoes gained a strong advocate in the HRI sector last year when the Spud Diner opened its doors in March 2010.

Market access work in Thailand broadened opportunities for exporters of U.S. fresh potatoes for consumption and processing and opened the door for future seed potato exports.

After the USPB conducted a chain training seminar for Shanghai Rongfei Hotel Management, the company introduced four dishes utilizing U.S. frozen potato products into its chain of five Chinese restaurants.

Consumers in the Philippines are learning to appreciate potato bread, after a promotion introduced 11 new bakery products that incorporate U.S.dehydrated potatoes. Held in May/June 2010, the Potato-rrific Bread Fiesta launched the new products at 121 participating outlets.

An international reverse trade mission conducted by the United States Potato Board helped to boost exports to Malaysia. After participating in the September 27- October 3, 2009 mission, a major Malaysian importer began importing U.S. fresh potatoes for the first time. This company ordered two containers (nearly 50 MT) in MY 09/10 and is considering expanding to specialty colored potatoes now that they have experience handling U.S. fresh potatoes.

A focus on diversifying into new products and new channels brought strong returns in the Chinese HRI sector for the USPB. Thanks to the USPB’s efforts, restaurants were convinced to introduce 15 new menu items using U.S. frozen potatoes in MY 09/10.

Continued new product and new channel development are helping grow U.S. exports to Japan, which jumped 38% to 18,422 MT last year, compared with the previous year. By value, exports were $26.8 million, a 32% increase over the prior year.

The USPB reached out to future consumers in Hong Kong with a parent-child cooking contest that drew 630 entries, much more than anticipated. The contest, held April-June 2010, included a competition for primary school participants and for secondary school participants.

As part of its ongoing efforts to improve access to global markets for U.S. potatoes, the USPB partnered with the National Potato Council (NPC) to open the Vietnam market to U.S. fresh potatoes, including chip and tablestock.

In Japan, the large sales and popularity of “sozai” (prepared food purchased from the supermarket)means this niche holds enormous potential for increased sales of U.S. frozen potatoes.

Bakery seminars in China are proving to be an effective tactic for creating demand for U.S.dehydrated potatoes, with three bakery chains incorporating U.S. dehy into 20 new bakery products last year. Together, these three companies use about 1 MT monthly of U.S. dehy, representing net new sales.

The USPB was able to improve retail merchandising efforts in Singapore and Hong Kong after it introduced its “Best in Class” program to the retail trade. This is a highly successful program first developed for the U.S. market. It identifies proven “best practices” in six categories which retailers can implement. These comprise merchandising, assortment, pricing, promotion, communication and packaging.

Swift action on the part of the USPB and USDA APHIS resulted in the release of 25 containers of U.S. potatoes held in customs in the Dominican Republic and Thailand last year.

The USPB International Seed Symposium and Tour improved understanding of U.S. seed quality and safety and developed stronger business relationships between international customers and U.S. seed growers. As a result, the U.S. seed marketing program built a foundation for increased access to markets, generated greater support for U.S. seed among buyers and expanded use of the program by U.S. exporters.

The pear is Oregon's state fruit and the fresh pear industry is one of the most important agricultural industries in Oregon. MAP funded promotional programs have led to an increase in Oregon's pear exports. This increase inthe export volume and value has also meant more jobs in the growing regions directly attributed to Oregon pear exports.

When you mention frozen potatoes to chefs around the world, many automatically think “fries” or “side dish.” To overcome this stereotype, the USPB has been educating potential customers on innovative uses for a wide range of frozen potato products.

Korean food manufacturers continue to keep finding new applications for U.S. dehydrated potatoes. The latest innovation: using U.S. dehy in the popular rice cake snack “Hotteok.”

U.S. table-stock potatoes are popping up in new forms and new dishes at restaurants throughout Asia—a trend that owes its origin to an annual chef seminar organized by the USPB.

As highlighted in the chip-stock section, last year saw the opening of the Thailand market to U.S. fresh and seed potato exports. After years of cooperative work by APHIS, FAS, the NPC, USPB and state potato grower organizations, Thailand’s Department of Agriculture signed off on import protocols for fresh U.S. table-stock and chipstock potatoes, and then completed an import protocol for U.S. seed potatoes from the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California.

After years of chipping away at access issues in Japan, the U.S. potato industry is making strides toward developing sales. During MY 09/10, U.S. exports of fresh potatoes to Japan hit record levels of 2,357 MT and $1.2 million, a leap of 245% and 431%, respectively, compared with the prior year.

In Malaysia, the USPB successfully convinced a key manufacturer to make a first-time purchase of U.S. chipping potatoes. The new customer, URC Malaysia, purchased 8 containers of U.S. chipping potatoes equaling nearly 200 MT in 2009.

Four new U.S. seed exporters are now active in the market of Uruguay, thanks to the USPB’s July 2009 Seed Symposium.

The concept of the “healthy U.S. potato” has taken hold across a broad audience in the Korean market, helped along by the USPB’s public relations campaign.

Four years ago when Mexico’s STAX plant closed its doors, it looked like U.S. dehydrated potato exports would similarly exit the market. At that time, the Frito-Lay plant was the single biggest user of U.S. dehy in Mexico. However, by helping to diversify U.S. dehydrated potato usage into numerous other products and sectors, the USPB marketing program has aided U.S. exports in recovering strength. U.S. exports to Mexico in MY 09/10 rose 61% to 20,671 MT. Value reached $29.5 million, up 72%.

U.S. exports of fresh potatoes to Mexico climbed 59% to a record 73,253 MT in MY 09/10, despite being restricted to a 26-kilometer area near the border. By value, U.S. exports rose 4% to $28 million.

The stories in this report demonstrate success in building new sales with individual target companies or sectors in key markets. By themselves, the successes are notable, but it is in the cumulative impact of the overall USPB frozen marketing program that the real gains are made.

A stronger focus on the applications of dehydrated potatoes in the food service sector paid dividends this year after a premier 5-star hotel in Malaysia began purchasing three types of dehydrated potato products for its buffet line and events menu. By continuing to court the importer/distributor sector—and by designing activities that educate their customers on the benefits and applications of the dehydrated potato products they offer—the USPB encouraged two new distributors to carry U.S. dehydrated potato products this year.

U.S. table-stock potatoes are popping up in new forms and new dishes at restaurants throughout Asia—a trend that owes its origin to an annual chef seminar organized by the USPB.

The U.S. Potato Board took the first step toward creating a new market for U.S. chipping potatoes in Central America, after a U.S. trade mission and sample shipments opened up new sales possibilities.

Opportunities for U.S. seed are poised to expand in Nicaragua, as the industry is considering four new varieties for import registration.

Exports of U.S. potatoes and products for July 2009 through June 2010 (MY 09/10) totaled 1,229,853 metric tons (MT) valued at $1,172,702,250. This is a decline of 0.67% in volume and 2.69% in value from the previous year’s record levels. On a fresh weight equivalent basis, exports accounted for 53,074,809 hundredweight of U.S. potatoes, or roughly 15% of total production.

Exports of U.S. dehydrated potatoes swelled 14% in volume to 96,193 MT during the July 2009-June 2010 marketing year. The value of U.S. dehy exports rose 19% to $156.7 million, in part due to the continued rise in dehy prices.

Exports of U.S. fresh potatoes to targeted chip-stock markets fell 17% by volume and 6% by value during the July 2009-June 2010 marketing year, due to declines to Thailand and the Dominican Republic. These two markets were heavily impacted by quality issues early in the year. Of the USPB’s other eight target markets, all but one recorded significant growth, and many—Japan, Philippines, Malaysia and Guatemala—hit record export levels.

Achievements of the seed program during the past marketing year include trials of 16 varieties of U.S. seed, numerous new contacts made through market visits and trade missions and five new U.S. exporters selling internationally. Market access issues were also addressed in a number of countries.

The USPB’s food aid initiative successfully raised awareness and understanding of the potential of U.S. dehydrated potatoes in food programming, as demonstrated through the results of training workshops for PVO staff.

One of the toughest challenges for U.S. frozen potatoes in ASEAN markets is the strong competition from cheaper, lower-quality competitors. Thus, every target buyer who the USPB can educate on the value of serving a higher quality fry represents a step toward overcoming this constraint.

California Almond exports to China reached 133.0 million pounds in crop year 2009/10 ending July 31, 2010, propelling China to become only the third country ever and the first country outside Europe to break through the 100 million pound export shipment threshold.

Consumer research conducted across eleven major priority export markets for California Almonds found that India, the fourth largest export market for California Almonds, leads the pack when it comes to anticipated future purchases of almonds.

The Almond Board of California received TASC funds to offset the cost of bringing over competent authorities from key EU Member States to educate them on the merits of VASP as well as the terms of the Special Measures requirements. The seminars and tours the participants attended instilled confidence in the protocols adopted by the California Almond industry and clarified the interpretations made by the European Commission regarding Special Measures applied to California Almonds. As a result of the project, there has been a decrease in the number of erroneously detained and/or rejected consignments.

The USPB’s frozen program efforts in Thailand maintained the U.S. majority market share of 53% for frozen potato imports despite the tariff differential with New Zealand and Australia.

Thanks to ongoing education, product sampling and demonstration projects, U.S. dehydrated potato flakes are being used in Senegal by Counterpart International in their Title II school feeding program.

China/Hong Kong, the 4th largest California Prune export market, continued to grow in 2009/10 with increases of over 85% in both volume (4,653.5 MT) and value ($9.22 million). The base for this growth has been an expanding trade network. Exhibits at trade shows like the 2009 FHC and CPB trade seminars in major cities have introduced new buyers to California Prunes and educated them about the products’ high quality, food safety, nutritional attributes, and versatility. Two new brands of pre-packed and bulk California Prunes from a new-to-market exporter entered China as a result. Importers report the purchase of six containers (120 MT) of the new brands of prunes with estimated annual requirements of 20 containers.

The California Prune Board (CPB) tied up with Kellogg’s-India, the world’s leading manufacturer of breakfast cereals, to jointly promote California Prunes as a healthy accompaniment to breakfast cereal. Kellogg’s offered over 100,000 free packs of California Prunes with purchases of Kellogg’s Extra Muesli. The promotion was featured extensively in both the print and television media with over 3 million impressions. Kellogg’s has reported a 50% increase in the sales of muesli during the promotion period. Trade sources have also reported a 30% increase in demand for California Prunes during and directly after the promotion.

The California Prune Board strengthened its sales promotion campaign nationally to supplement spot television advertising in the Tokyo/Kanto area which accounts for 34% of Japanese households. The national sales promotion included national newspaper advertising, a consumer sweepstakes, a recipe contest and a health management promotion. As a result, the average prune sales amount per 1,000 shoppers at supermarkets per week in Tokyo jumped by 32% during the advertising period (6 weeks) versus the same period before advertising (source: Nikkei POS Data). Export volume and value to Japan in 2009/10 (August-July) by FAS Export Reports increased by 21% and 14% respectively enabling Japan to regain its position as the largest export market for California Prunes.

The California Prune Board (CPB) extended the reach and impact of its MAP generic budget during this period of economic uncertainty by partnering with events and co-sponsors who share its image and messaging (i.e. healthy snacking). Sampling and promotion activities reached 313,000 of CPB’s target female audience at events like Sports Relief, Taste of London, Cheeky Monkies (a family-oriented event) and England Netball (a nationally televised girls/women’s sport). Even in these financially stressful times the percentage of respondents indicating their intention to purchase California origin prunes, the most expensive in the market, rose a remarkable 22% over 2008/09 to 49%. This dramatically highlights the ability of promotion to sway consumers and retailers toward higher-priced products even during a period of intense price competition for shrinking consumer dollars.

Despite recessionary turmoil, a 9.6% tariff on U.S. prunes and a 20-40% tariff on prune juice and concentrate, from which our major competitor, Chile, is exempted by virtue of its FTA with the EU, the California Prune Board’s MAP-funded promotions minimized market share losses. AC Nielsen data reveals that MAP-funded promotions boosted sales of the entire category by 9% for prunes and 8% for juice compared to a comparable period the year before. Moreover, Sunsweet Growers Inc. was able to vanquish intense competition from a locally produced juice, not subject to the EU’s tariff, achieving an astounding 15% growth in volume (43% higher than the cheaper foreign competition) and a 13% boost in value.

The California Prune Board (CPB) and Sunsweet Growers, Inc. entered the Israeli market for the first time in 2009/10 in the hope of reenergizing what had once been a significant market for California Prunes. Despite a totally unjustified 2,000 MT TRQ that purports to protect a nonexistent Israeli prune industry, the U.S. captured 93% of the Israeli prune market. After just the first year of programming, CPB and Sunsweet witnessed a dramatic reversal in trade with a 74% leap in value from $3.8 million to $6.5 million due to a 97% surge in volumes from 1,428 MT in 2008/09 to 2,817 MT in 2009/10.

California Prune exports to Germany in 2009/10 totaled $28.3 million or 17% of California’s total global prune export value. The U.S. saw its market share grow for the fourth consecutive year from 28% in 2005/06 to 42% in 2009/10. Sunsweet Growers Inc., the California Prune Board’s branded partner has introduced various package sizes and formats to adapt to the current market conditions in Germany and to more effectively compete with the proliferation of more profitable private label products for precious retailer shelf space. Targeted promotional activity not only generated a significant number of consumer entrants but also saw Sunsweet prune sales grow 4% in volume and 5% in value in 2009/10.

Despite extreme belt tightening by Italian consumers and rigidly constricting retailer margins, California Prune Board and Sunsweet promotions boosted sales of the entire prune category by an astounding 12%, compared to a comparable period the year before, and Sunsweet grew its prune sales by 5% in volume and 4% in value. The key to Sunsweet’s success has been the introduction of its new “Ones,” individually wrapped prunes promoted as the ideal healthy snack, sales of which have grown as a share of total Sunsweet branded prune sales from just 2.3% in 2008/09 to an impressive 6.1% in 2009/10.

By continually seeking unique new marketing ideas for U.S. frozen potato products,the USPB has been able to successfully position U.S. potatoes as an innovative product that appeals to modern consumer needs

After a lengthy application process, the USPB successfully gained approval for standard potato granules by USAID. Private voluntary organizations (PVOs) that receive USAID Title II funding will now be able to request dehydrated potato granules for their food programming needs.

Market access stands as a significant constraint to the growth of U.S. fresh potato exports, thus a strategic focus on market access is crucial to the success of the table-stock and chip-stock programs.

Ale House 82, whose parent company HUB launched three menu items last year as a result of USPB samples, materials and a menu presentation, followed suit with three new menus of their own.

The strategy of working all along the product distribution channel—from importer to manufacturer to retailer—paid off as U.S. dehy made significant inroads into the Filipino bakery sector this past year.

An important strategy in continued growth of U.S. exports has been the successful development of a positive potato profile. This past year the USPB partnered with two popular Malaysian magazines to conduct consumer cooking workshops.

Thanks to USPB efforts, the concept of Ready-To-Eat fries at retail outlets is catching on in Malaysia. The latest convert is Mydin Hypermarket, which introduced three varieties of specialty cuts in their Ready-To-Eat (RTE) deli counters during the 2008/2009 marketing year.

Thanks to a joint effort by the American Potato Trade Alliance (APTA), the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, FAS and USTR, frozen potatoes have cleared most of the hurdles toward obtaining a more suitable standard for coliforms.

Accounting for about 12% of all U.S. frozen potato exports, Mexico is the third largest export destination for U.S. frozen potatoes and an important target market.

The retail sector represents a promising channel for sales growth, as most of Mexico’s major supermarket chains already sell instant mashed potatoes, dehydrated potato shreds and dehydrated potato slices, usually of U.S. origin.

In March 2009, the U.S. and Russian governments signed an historic agreement that opened Russia to shipments of U.S. fresh potatoes.

At a bilateral meeting with USDA APHIS held in Bozeman, Montana, in September, Taiwan approved Montana as a state eligible to ship both seed and fresh potatoes.

More consumers in China are now able to experience the high quality and nutrition of U.S. potatoes as one of the biggest hypermarkets introduced U.S. frozen potatoes in their stores in April 2009.

After four years of conducting trade relations with distributor Guangzhou Hopes in China, the USPB program convinced them to begin carrying U.S. dehy during the 2008/2009 marketing year.

As part of its strategy to create a niche for U.S. potatoes in new market segments, the USPB conducted a “marketing and product idea” seminar in January 2009 in Manila, Philippines.