County Considers Ways To Increase Ag Exports To China

Members of a Chinese trade delegation sat down with Riverside County officials last week to explore how to strengthen ties and boost agricultural exports to the People's Republic.

According to county Foreign Trade Commissioner Tom Freeman, 20 officials from Jiangsu Province, led by the region's grain bureau director, spoke with him, county Agricultural Commissioner John Snyder and county Farm Bureau Director Steve Pastor about how to increase the flow of perishables from the county to China.

Freeman said the April 19 informal conference in downtown Riverside also touched on potential obstacles to expanding the flow of agricultural products, including regulations on imports and exports.

Guests were treated to fresh dates and oranges during the meeting, he said.

"Our farmers are exporting record numbers of agricultural products to 67 countries around the globe, and increasing those sales is important in creating jobs here at home for our workforce," said Board of Supervisors Chairman John Tavaglione.

"Our farmers are creating and sustaining jobs here," he added. "They are creating and sustaining  jobs in the food processing industry, with our railroads, ports, trucking industry, and our grocery stores. We are proud to be the home of over 1,200 farming operations here in Riverside County."

In a separate meeting, Chinese investor Xingfa Xue met with county representatives to gauge the potential for commodity investments locally, according to Freeman.

He said China is second only to Japan in the amount of agricultural goods bought annually from county farms, receiving one-fifth of all exports.