April 20, 2018
NASHVILLE, Tenn (RFD-TV) The Secretary of Agriculture is busy this week responding to concerns from farmers all across the country on trade, rural development, and the 2018 Farm Bill.
“I think it’s ludicrous,” Perdue exlaimed. “Nobody is forcing the Chinese to buy sorghum. The very accusation – allegation of dumping and countervailing duties – is nothing more than a political statement that is unfair. It is exactly what President Trump has been getting their attention about, and they’ve decided to double down, and that’s very unfortunate. We’re going to work with our sorghum producers to find a home, but hopefully this can be corrected sooner rather than later. The Chinese are making some serious mistakes trying to do this against ag products. They’re putting their own industries in harm’s way too, because they’re not going to find that product any cheaper, any better quality, or any more efficient than right here in the U.S. We want them to recognize that and stop doing silly things like this to try and put political pressure on the President.”
The U.S. is the world’s leading producer of sorghum and the top supplier for China. News of the tariff sent Australian sorghum up more than $10 per ton, but traders there say few have taken up the deal: the grain is in short supply after drought cut into production last year.