US government funds projects to leverage the pet industry across international markets

Both the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the Pet Food Institute (PFI) have received federal funding from the US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service’s (FAS) Market Access Program (MAP) 2024.

PFI was awarded $1.3 million (€1.19M) in funds to promote the “benefits of complete and balanced U.S.-made pet food to consumers” in Brazil, the Caribbean, Central America, China, Colombia, Mexico, the Middle East, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan. 

Nat Davies, PFI’s Vice President of Business Operations and Programs, highlights that the pet industry helps strengthen the US economy. “The allocation of these funds to PFI is not just a win for the pet food industry, it is a win for the US agricultural industry,” he admits. 

According to the institute, for each $1 (€0.92) invested in the development of export markets through MAP, US agricultural exports increased by more than $24 (€22).

Broadening access to Vietnam

AFIA received a capital injection of $170,000 (€156,230) under the same project. The association, which represents the US pet and animal food industry and its suppliers, says that this year’s MAP funding stands at nearly $200,000 (€183,801) due to additional rollover funding. 

The capital injection will allow AFIA to increase consumer demand for US pet food and assist companies that are interested in exporting to Vietnam.

“Between 2002 and 2020, the gross domestic product per capita there increased 3.6 times, while poverty rates declined, and improved health and living standards rose. These market indicators make Vietnam ripe with opportunity to sell U.S. pet food products,” Mallory Gaines, AFIA’s Director of Market Access and Trade Policy, tells GlobalPETS.

Most pet parents in the Southeast Asian country still feed their animals human food or table scraps. This is why AFIA has partnered with the Vietnamese Small Animal Veterinary Association (VSAVA) to increase pet owners’ awareness of how a healthy and balanced diet can positively impact their animals’ well-being.