Undersecretary McKinney to Headline Mexico Bean Congress

USDA Undersecretary Ted McKinney will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Mexico Bean Congress which takes place in Cancun, February 8 – 11. Ted McKinney Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs[/caption], 2018. Secretary McKinney is the first USDA Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs after this position was created by the Farm Bill in recognition of continued growth in agricultural trade and the critical need for a dedicated high ranking USDA official in this capacity. Previously, this position represented both agricultural trade issues as well as the Farm Service Agency.

Despite a complicated global trade policy environment, agricultural trade has continued to post impressive numbers with 8% growth in 2017 to $140.5 billion, making it the third strongest trading year on record. US dry bean exports have continued strong in 2017 and will likely finish the year just slightly behind 2016. With support from USDA/FAS’ Market Access Program (MAP), Foreign Market Development Program (FMD), and Emerging Markets Program (EMP), we have seen record growth in some of our newer export markets such as Central America and Brazil. We expect this trend to continue into 2018 and we hope to see a resurgence in exports to the Dominican Republic and Mexico which continue to be our top markets but are slightly down this year due to trade policy issues.

It goes without saying that the ongoing NAFTA renegotiation and the overall trade relationship between the U.S. and our number one export market, Mexico, will be a topic of interest and discussion at the 2018 Bean Congress. We look forward to Undersecretary McKinney’s remarks on this topic and some healthy discussion throughout the Congress. USDBC remains confident that while the renegotiation has become protracted, we will eventually reach agreement and will see a NAFTA 2.0 unveiled in 2018. For more information on any of our markets please see our members only page for reports and analysis. Otherwise please make sure to register for the Bean Congress and we will see you there. http://www.usbeancongress.com/english.html