U.S. – Japan Agreement Creates Opportunity for U.S. Sorghum Farmers
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 25, 2019) — National Sorghum Producers Chairman Dan Atkisson, a sorghum farmer from Stockton, Kansas, made the following statement today after President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a trade agreement that eliminates the tariff on grain sorghum and increases market access for U.S. agricultural producers in Japan.
“Today’s trade announcement by President Trump and Prime Minister Abe comes at a pivotal time and is welcomed news by the U.S. sorghum industry. We applaud negotiators from both countries for their hard work and foresight to build more opportunities for U.S. agriculture producers. Japan has become a stable market for our farmers with growing interest from the consumer and feeding industries, and we look forward to increased market access, duty free, achieved through this agreement. We also feel this relationship with Japan marks an important step forward in further expanding trade relationships with southeast Asia where there are valuable market growth opportunities.”
Japan imported close to 237,000 metric tons of U.S. sorghum this marketing year. The majority of grain is utilized as animal feed, primarily for poultry. The U.S. is also the dominant supplier of sorghum seed to Japan, exporting 81 metric tons of treated seed in 2017.
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NSP represents U.S. sorghum producers and serves as the voice of the sorghum industry coast to coast through legislative representation, regulatory representation and education. To learn more about NSP, visit www.sorghumgrowers.com.