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More Senators Call for Promotion Funding for Pecans
An aerial view of a pecan orchard in Georgia. (Photo by Lenny Wells)
In a recent letter to Secretary Tom Vilsack, Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock expressed that they “were disappointed to see the U.S. pecan industry receive a woefully inadequate allocation” under the USDA Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP).
The senators from Georgia highlighted the potential to diversity and increase export opportunities, stating that half of Georgia’s pecan exports have gone to Mexico and China in recent years. “In 2022, the United States exported more than $1.3 million of pecans to India. As a result of our successful efforts, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service projects that pecan exports to India could now reach up to $5 million annually,” they added.
The senators urged the USDA to provide “adequate support” in the future to pecans, “which have enormous potential to support the growth of American agricultural exports to countries around the world.”
