American peanut farmers are involved with the American Peanut Council.
Their core responsibility is to administer an export promotion program for U.S. peanuts, increasing the consumption of U.S. grown peanuts and peanut products internationally. APC does not process or sell peanuts. Instead, resources are devoted to market development and dissemination of trade information on behalf of the U.S. industry.
Right now, the APC’s active participation is with the Foreign Agricultural Service Cooperative Program, which began in 1978. On behalf of the U.S. peanut industry, in coordination and with collaboration of USDA, they have undertaken market development activities throughout Western, Central, and Eastern Europe and Asia and the Middle East, along with some in Russia and South America. The current market activities are going in these countries, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Japan, China, and global issues otherwise.
But overall, the APC is the only organization representing all segments of the industry, but in this case, they are representing the peanut farmers in the export market area, which exports about 25 percent of the crop.
Audio Reporting by Tyron Spearman for Southeast AgNet.