Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson will participate in the United States Department of Agriculture’s first-ever regional agribusiness trade mission to the Netherlands from April 17-20.
Gipson serves as President of the Southern U.S. Trade Association (SUSTA), a 14-member federally funded state organization that will cover his travel expenses.
SUSTA works cooperatively with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service to facilitate trade between local U.S. food companies and international buyers.
“I am honored to participate in the upcoming Netherlands Trade Mission,” Gipson said. “The Netherlands is the gateway port to all of continental Europe. This a great opportunity for Mississippi to exhibit our diverse agricultural commodities and markets on an international level. I plan to push all our major ag products, in particular, grain, poultry, timber, and sweet potatoes. A major part of our agency’s job is to develop domestic and international markets for Mississippi producers. I’m proud to represent the State of Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the Southern U.S. Trade Association, and our producers on this trade mission and we are strategically planning more trips in the future with this same objective in mind.”
The delegation includes more than 50 businesses, trade associations, and state government leaders from around the country seeking to grow U.S. agricultural exports to the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and beyond.
Several Mississippi representatives will join Gibson as a part of the delegation, including Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation President Mike McCormick and Kent Bloodworth, who serves as general counsel for the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.
“As the largest general farm organization in Mississippi, I feel Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation and its farmer members have a lot to offer the Netherlands and Europe,” McCormick continued. “We are honored at Commissioner Gipson’s invitation to join him on this trip and look forward to a future partnership between the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, Farm Bureau, and the agriculture community in the Netherlands.”
While on the trade mission, participants will conduct business-to-business meetings with potential buyers, receive market briefings from USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and industry trade experts, and participate in site visits.
