France, Germany, and the United Kingdom each rely primarily on a centralized marketing organization to promote their agricultural exports. They conduct a number of different types of promotions, provide an array of services to exporters, and promote nearly all high-value products and commodities. Because so many factors influence a country’s export levels, these figures alone are not sufficient to make judgments about the effectiveness of the countries’ foreign market development programs. The activities conducted generally included market research, consulting services, trade servicing, consumer promotions, advertising, and sponsorship at trade shows. Foreign Market Development by the United States

Most foreign market development of U.S. high-value products is carried out by not-for-profit trade associations. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service has the primary government role in market development and promotion of HVPs. Information on Five Countries’ Marketing Organizations, 1993

Government division that supports promotional activities at overseas posts (Table notes on next page)

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to obtain information on (1) the organizations in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands that help develop foreign markets for high-value agricultural products; (2) the programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for HVP foreign market development; and (3) the ways in which these five countries’ programs are evaluated to determine their effectiveness in increasing exports. To obtain information on the foreign market development efforts of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, we conducted telephone interviews and met in the United States with officials of foreign marketing organizations and the embassies of the four countries.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the structure, funding, and promotional activities of the organizations that develop foreign markets for high-value agricultural products (HVP), focusing on the: (1) organizations in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands that help develop foreign markets for HVP; (2) Department of Agriculture's (USDA) foreign market development programs; and (3) ways in which these countries' programs are evaluated to determine their effectiveness in increasing exports.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) France, Germany, and the United Kingdom each have an integrated market development organization that provides an array of services and promotes most agricultural products; (2) the Netherlands relies primarily on independent commodity associations to promote its agricultural products; (3) all of the countries spent less on foreign market development than the United States in 1993; (4) because so many factors influence a country's export levels, information on promotion expenditures alone is not sufficient to determine the effectiveness of a country's foreign market development efforts; (5) the countries' foreign market development programs are financed mostly by the private sector, while U.S. foreign market development programs are coordinated by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service; and (6) the market development organizations reviewed and the United States generally engage in the same kinds of promotional activities, including market research, trade shows, consumer promotions, and trade servicing.