The U.S. peanut industry won’t give up on current export markets and remains committed to finding new ones as U.S. peanut production is expected to continue to grow in the years to come.
That’s the point Richard Owen, President and CEO of the American Peanut Council (APC), emphasized in a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing U.S. peanut exports at the annual meeting of the American Peanut Research and Education Society (APRES) recently. Owen stressed that the industry won’t give up on such key markets as Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan and China.
Owen noted that for the last five years the U.S. has exported roughly 26% of its peanut crop. The number one market is Mexico, followed by Canada, then China, the European Union, and Japan. Canada and Mexico represent 58% of the export market for U.S. peanuts.
“The APC strategy is aligned on maximizing as much as we can the opportunities in the international markets and try to minimize some of the challenges. Over the next five years or so we have a vision. We want to make sure we have clarity, and we have industry alignment around what success looks like,” Owen said. “Part of what we want to do with our strategy is to make sure all sectors of the industry have a chance to be involved in the game. We want to look at opportunities in new markets.”
The goal is to create more demand and create higher value across all sectors of the peanut industry. According to Owen, all sectors, from growers to shellers to manufacturers to buying points, will have a voice in the strategy.
“We want to make sure that we create consistent demand for what we believe is a superior product in the international marketplace. Of course, superior product is defined not by us, it’s defined by the customer. We want a loop where the customer is continually telling us what’s good and what needs to be improved with our products,” Owen said. He emphasized that the APC is not seeking to grow the international market at the expense of the domestic market. He said it’s about growing the whole market as the U.S. peanut industry increases production.
“We’re about growing the whole pie. You can’t increase production unless you do something to find a customer for that product being grown, so that’s what we want to do. This is not about trading off demand for domestic versus international. This is about growing the entire pie,” said Owen.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
It is noteworthy that another commodity, peanuts, is developing a well-organized plan to improve consumer acceptance and feedback, which in turn will increase markets. Peanuts are not a widely grown crop in the U.S., but where they are produced, they are an important piece of the agricultural production. For the most part, they are a high-value crop. And it is always good to see a commodity group focus on expanding markets. Make sure you pay attention to the peanut farmers in your area. They purchase a lot of trucks and would certainly appreciate knowing more about AgPack®!
