Washington, D.C. — Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) representatives met with top Office of U.S. Trade Representative officials to discuss the status of the Doha Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. The GPC discussed on-going concerns with the negotiations but specifically the current state of peanut exports. Despite the increase in domestic peanut use since the 2002 Farm Bill, peanut exports have continued to decline.

The GPC has advocated since the 2002 Farm Bill that the export decline is a result of the loan repayment being set too high by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Although members of Congress have been supportive of the intent of the 2002 Farm Bill provisions that encouraged the inclusion of peanut export countries’ prices such as Argentina, Brazil and India, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has largely ignored peanut sales by other nations.

The 2002 Farm Bill stated that the posted price should, “allow peanuts produced in the United States to be marketed freely and competitively, both domestically and internationally.”

In May of this year, U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., held a hearing to review the current peanut program. Dr. Stanley Fletcher, director of the University of Georgia’s National Center for Peanut Competitiveness testified before the committee stating, “While the U.S. peanut industry can be successful in the domestic market, this does not hold true for the international market. The U.S. peanut industry used to have over 30 percent of the world peanut trade under the old peanut program during normal crop years. In 2005, the industry had approximately 13 percent of the world trade. If one looks at the trend since 1992 (a normal crop year), the U.S. peanut export volume has dropped 54 percent from 1992 to 2005. The problem does not lie within the peanut program itself. Rather, the problem exists due to the method USDA is using to implement the language in the law.”

The Georgia Peanut Commission will continue to work with the Administration and Congress to improve the peanut export market. Growers can keep abreast of legislative issues by visiting the legislative web site, www.AmericanPeanuts.com.