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| ODA certification gives snapshot of Oregon ag exports | ||
| 02/14/2007 | ||
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Based on ODA export certification, Asia still top market Although not the definitive word on where Oregon agricultural commodities are being exported, phytosanitary certificates written by inspectors with the Oregon Department of Agriculture give a good view of the state's top export markets and what is being sent to those markets. Data from 2006 confirms Asia remains a major destination for Oregon agricultural products, but U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico remain key export markets for a number of crops grown in Oregon. "We don't look at everything that is exported from Oregon, but we do inspect nearly all of the fresh fruits and vegetables, and other major agricultural commodities such as Christmas trees, nursery stock, and grass seed," says Jim Cramer, administrator of ODA's Commodity Inspection Program . "These statistics are consistent with what we see from other available export numbers." ODA inspectors examine a variety of field crops,before issuing phytosanitary certificates that assure the commodity is clean of pests and diseases. Without the piece of paper with ODA's stamp of approval, there is no guarantee the commodity meets the export country's standards. Therefore, the product can't be shipped without the phytosanitary certificate. "As an example, our fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable products," says Cramer. "The timeliness of inspecting, certifying, and issuing the phytosanitary certificate to meet the importing country's requirements is absolutely critical. With about 40 percent of what is produced in Oregon heading for foreign countries, exports are very important to Oregon agriculture." It is important to emphasize that many Oregon-grown crops do not require phytosanitary certificates in order to be exported. Some commodities may need one for certain countries of destination, but not others. The numbers provided by ODA's database is not intended to give the total picture of exports, especially since they do no include processed agricultural goods. However, the statistics show some interesting trends for Oregon agriculture. In 2006, ODA inspectors with the Commodity Inspection Division and Plant Division issued phytosanitary certificates enabling more than 1.8 billion pounds of fresh product to be shipped to other countries. The value of these exports exceeded $151 million last year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS), total annual exports for Oregon agricultural commodities the past three years has been around $900 million. Based on that figure, ODA's service of inspection and providing phytosanitary certificates is responsible for nearly 17 percent of the state's agricultural exports. Last year, Oregon's top export commodity requiring a phytosanitary certificate from ODA was grass straw and hay at $62.2 million. What was once considered a waste product in the field after the grass was harvested is now providing value to the grower. Three Asian markets- Japan, Korea, and Taiwan- use the compacted straw and hay as cattle feed. More than 1.5 billion pounds was shipped from Oregon to those three countries in 2006, a slight increase from the year before. The second ranked commodity inspected and certified for export by ODA last year was hazelnuts, with an export value of $49.4 million. Nearly half of those hazelnuts were exported to Hong Kong. Surprisingly, more than $10 million of hazelnuts were exported to Vietnam. Germany, Canada, and France were other top export destinations for Oregon hazelnuts, based on ODA's certification data. The number three export commodity last year was Christmas trees at about $16.2 million. Mexico was once again the major buyer of Oregon Christmas trees at about $14 million, with Canada a distant second at about $2 million. Again, without ODA's inspectors issuing the phytosanitary certificates, the trees would never cross the U.S. border. Pears and grass seed are next on the list of ODA inspected export commodities for 2006 at about $11.7 million each. There is a much higher amount of grass seed exported from Oregon than accounted for by ODA, but there are some countries, such as the United Kingdom, that do not require a phytosanitary certificate for grass seed. Fresh Oregon pears were shipped last year to Mexico- more than half went to the U.S.'s southern neighbor- with Venezuela, Canada, Sweden, and Brazil also receiving a significant supply of pears. China remains the top export customer for grass seed, at least for those countries requiring a phytosanitary certificate. Japan, Australia, Argentina, and Korea also purchased high amounts of Oregon grass seed last year. Filling out the top ten of Oregon agricultural exports last year, according to ODA's database, are cherries ($7.5 million), onions ($4.8 million), apples ($4.8 million), potatoes ($4.0 million), and blueberries ($889,000). Based on phytosanitary certificate activity, Oregon's list of top five export markets is fairly close to the rankings provided by other export statistics. A general estimation of top markets by value of sales is as follows:
As ODA expands its certification services to include voluntary programs such as Good Agricultural Practices/Good Handling Practices (GAP/GHP), export numbers generated by the department should increase. In a state where only 20 percent of what is produced stays inside its borders, these services are critical for Oregon's agricultural commerce. For more information, contact Bruce Pokarney at (503) 986-4559. Story of the Week pdf version http://oregon.gov/ODA/docs/pdf/news/070214exports.sow.pdf Audio Story of the Week http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/070214exports_audio.shtml |
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