Now, we'll hear from Mr. To him Ilvento from the University of Delaware, Department of Food Resource and Economics.

MR. ILVENTO: Good afternoon, my name is Tom Ilvento. I'm the Acting Chair of the Food Resource and Economics Department in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. I guess everyone has heard of the notion that the buck stops here and I'm here to put it in practice. I'm actually going to report some information from some of the members of my department who couldn't be here today. I found that's a new role of an acting chair.

In the 1999 Governors Conference of Delaware Agriculture, Sherrie Barton, Bobby Gempesaw and Silvia Wyerbrock brought some information and it's included in the packet about international trade and agriculture in Delaware. And what I'd like to do is summarize some of that information and then talk about some implications or some things we'd like to see in the phyto from the WTO.

I would say that our interests here in terms of promoting agriculture in general in Delaware, improving the strength and viability of this industry, and we hope that all the facets of the industry share in these benefits, producers, the agri businesses and ultimately the consumers.

Free trade is important in Delaware and specifically to the agricultural sector. We're a small state, but we're the 28th largest exporter among all the states. A good part of this has to do with the chemical industry, but agricultural experts account for 11 percent of that and it's growing rapidly.

Just a few figures, and I'm try to keep those to a minimum, but that represented $147 million in 1997, agriculture exports, and that has increased 150 percent since 1990. And it represents one-fifth of total farm revenue. So an important part.

Much of the growth since 1990 has been due to increased economic vitality and freer trade environment fostered by things like the Uruguay Round of the WTO and the NAFTA agreements.

For example, during the 1990s, export growth in Delaware has been fueled by poultry growing almost 23 percent per year. The gains in poultry meat trade has been largely generated by increased access to markets in Russia and China, both which aspire to be members of the WTO. Also increased trade with Mexico due to NAFTA.

With nearly 70 percent of farm receipts coming from broilers, Delaware should benefit under the Uruguay Round as South Korea grants unlimited access for frozen chicken at a 20% tariff by 2004.

We also have important implications for soybeans, which is our second largest export, where by 2000, Japan will reduce its tariffs on soybeans.

So, again, with increasing emphasis on free trade among nations, it is expected that international trade will continue to be important in Delaware's economic growth.

So what will we ask or what do we need to consider into the phyto? Here's a couple issues that I'd like to leave. And I think other people have echoed these throughout the day.

First is effective WTO rules regarding sanitary, phytosanitary, technical regulations. As we know, at times, these are used as trade barriers, particularly trade in meat products and process food which has been impacted by such regulations. And, for example, in 1996, we dealt with this particular issue when Russia threatened to ban poultry imports claiming that the U.S. poultry meat is unsanitary and unsafe. So that would be one area.

Also, the emergence of biotech-affected WTO rules regarding genetically modified agricultural products and foods will increasingly be important as we move, and we have several initiatives in this state and in the area of biotechnology. And we'll increasingly play an important role in the phyto.

WTO membership of China and Russia. This is largely positive for agricultural and food producers since it will make trade relations more transparent, forces both countries to adhere to the WTO rules and offers a dispute settlement forum.

A further liberalization of trade policy, we believe, will imply further reduced reduction in tariffs; increasing of access of markets of various WTO members; further reduction in two aggregate measures of support and a move to green-box policies; and finally, further reduction in export subsidies.

And I guess finally I'd say in dealing with the Office of International Trade, Delaware ag exporters would be interested in various export credit and export promotion programs.

So I thank you.

UNDER SECRETARY SCHUMACHER: I was going to your 23 percent growth in exports. Is that continuing in poultry?

MR. ILVENTO: I have data to 1997. So that's between 1990 and 1997.

SECRETARY TARBURTON: They're enjoying a fairly nice situation because premium prices are so, so low.

UNDER SECRETARY SCHUMACHER: Very helpful. We'll look at your paper very carefully. Thank you for taking the time. And thank your colleagues for presenting that analysis.

MR. ILVENTO: Thank you.