USDA proposes to add pork and distillers dried grain to export sales reporting requirements

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2012– USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) announced that it is proposing to add pork and distillers dried grain (DDG) to the list of commodities covered by the Export Sales Reporting Requirements.

Under this proposed rule, all exporters of U.S. pork and DDGs would be required to report weekly export sales of pork and DDGs to FAS. Information required would include the quantity, destination and marketing year of all pork and DDG export sales, including certain changes in previously reported sales.

"Exports of these two products have grown significantly in recent years," said FAS Acting Administrator Suzanne Heinen. "Exports of DDGs were about 2 million tons in 2007 and reached about 8 million tons in 2011. And U.S. pork exports reached about 2 million tons in 2011, which is double what it was five years ago.”

“Adding pork and DDGs to the Export Sales Reporting Requirements would improve market transparency and enable commodity markets to better adjust to changing export activity," she added. 

“This proposed rule would allow for information on the total volume of sales and shipments to be available within two weeks of the activity, rather than the nearly two-month lag in actual exports reported by the U.S. Bureau of the Census,” according to the FAS announcement. 

View the proposed rule here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/03/08/2012-5486/export-sales-reporting-requirements. All comments must be submitted on or before May 7, 2012.

All comments concerning this proposed rule should be submitted to Peter W. Burr, Branch Chief, Export Sales Reporting Branch, Import Policies and Export Reporting Division, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington D.C. 20250-1021, STOP 1021; by email at pete.burr@fas.usda.gov; or by telephone at (202) 720-3274; or fax to (202) 720-0876.

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