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Central and East European Markets Offer
Opportunities for U.S. Exports
By Abraham Avidor
U.S. exporters looking for European growth markets may want to spin the globe a bit farther to the east.
ln 1996, direct U.S. agricultural exports to Central and Eastern Europe grew a robust 43 percent, from $385 million to $550 million. The increase reflected stronger sales of wheat, corn, cotton, soybeans, cereals, red meats, poultry meat, cattle hides, beer and tree nuts.
Although U.S. exports to Poland and Latvia showed the greatest value gains over the previous year, a large portion of the substantial poultry meat shipments to those countries was reexported to Russia and other former Soviet republics. Smaller increases occurred in U.S. exports to Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovenia.
Growth opportunities appear to exist for competitively priced U.S. products that support Central and East European farm productivity and export earnings. These products include farm inputs such as planting seeds and animal genetic products, as well as bulk commodities that can be converted into value-added products.
Certain consumer-ready foods
that offer dietary diversity and support the growth of tourism
also present significant opportunities for U.S. exporters.
The European Union is the primary supplier of agricultural products to Central and Eastern Europe, while the overall U.S. market share is relatively small.
Prospects for U.S. exports continue to be affected by the region's weather conditions, ongoing economic reforms, border protection and trade preferences.
The author is an international economist at the Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Tel.: (202) 720-0760; fax: (202) 690-2079; E-mail: avidor@fas.usda.gov
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