Wine Institute Welcomes New USDA Specialty Crop Export Funding Program

SAN FRANCISCO — Wine Institute President and CEO Robert P. Koch made the following statement today regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement of $1.3 billion in funding and the new Regional Agriculture Promotion Program (RAPP) to promote U.S. agricultural exports including California wine:

“This announcement comes at a critical time for California wine producers and the program will provide much needed support to help boost our exports in markets around the world where we are often at a competitive disadvantage to foreign wine producers. Challenging market conditions are forcing U.S. wine producers to innovate new ways to expand and invest in developing markets. We applaud the administration for recognizing the need for this collaboration and funding. This will provide essential resources to help many smaller wineries participate in global export programs and as a result grow their operations here in California.”

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