By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, along with Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, just returned from a trade mission to Colombia and Panama.

Led by Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) officials, the trade mission, held Feb. 3-9, was Gregg’s first since taking the oath of office Jan. 18.

“Trade missions are an important part of strengthening Iowa’s economy,” Gregg said. “They help us open and expand manufacturing and agricultural markets, while simultaneously building upon our international relationships. In a new and fast changing economy, Iowans are connected to the global market.”

Others participating in the trade mission included officials from the Iowa Pork Producers Assoc. (IPPA); Iowa Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA); Iowa Soybean Assoc. (ISA); Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF); and Midwest Premier Foods in Johnston, Iowa.

Currently, Iowa is the second largest agricultural exporting state in the country, with more than $13.2 billion in agricultural exports annually. Last year, over $80 million in Iowa goods went to Colombia, with a 247 percent increase in trade just within the first six months of 2018.

To date, Colombia is a top 25 trading partner with the United States overall, and is America’s 11th largest agricultural export market; Panama is a strategic partner for U.S. exports, serving as a crossroads of international trade located between two oceans and two continents.

“I think the big take away for our group is once again it’s important to sit across the table from your customers, take our Iowa farmers and have a relationship with some of our customers in those countries,” Naig told WHO-TV Channel 13 in Des Moines. “The second thing is both of these countries have free trade agreements with the United States. Trade agreements work.”

Wayne Humphreys, Iowa Corn Promotion Board president and Columbus Junction, Iowa, corn grower, told Farm World the mission focused on increasing sales of value-added Iowa products.

“Iowa is a leading producer of corn-fed pork and beef, and there is a growing international demand for high-quality animal protein, especially in Latin America,” he said. “Colombia is a country of 50 million consumers, and their desire for U.S. meat is evidenced by the 46 percent increase in imports from the U.S. this year.”

Humphreys said while smaller in population, Panama is the logistical hub of the Western Hemisphere and the location of many food purveyors for the region. 

“Panama’s Fortunato Mangravita, S.A. is the second largest meat processor in South America,” he said. “They are McDonald’s internationally-approved supplier of hamburger patties to the region. They buy huge volumes of trimmings from Iowa and other states’ harvest facilities to blend with domestic beef to create affordable burgers for the consumers of the region.”

He said the IEDA’s focus on this region is strategic.

“Our customers in Latin America are close, they are loyal, and they are becoming wealthier,” he said. “We heard time and time again that while there may be opportunities in higher-profile markets around the world, Latin American customers highly value our products and our partnerships.

“This leads us all to have a deeper appreciation for the importance of these neighboring markets,” he added.

Trent Thiele, IPPA president, who was one of three pig farmers on the IEDA’s trip, told Farm World he sees a lot of room for pork export growth in both countries.

“Neither country produces all the pork their consumers want,” the Elma, Iowa, pig farmer said. “Wages are going up in Columbia, and pork consumption there is increasing rapidly. In Panama, there is a 70 percent duty on most of their U.S. pork purchases. Even with that 70 percent duty, our pork is still very price-competitive with their domestic pork.”

“Since we traveled with (Naig) and (Gregg), it showed buyers in those countries that farmers and our government are working together and we’re both interested in selling our products to them,” he added. “This is encouraging to those buyers because knowing we are on the same page creates trust.”