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Today, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of his colleagues from Georgia in sending a letter to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins seeking a swift solution in expanding access to India's market for U.S. pecan producers.

Joining Congressman Allen in sending the letter are Representatives Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Buddy Carter (GA-01), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Austin Scott (GA-08), Rich McCormick (GA-07), and David Scott (GA-13), as well as Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).

In the letter, the Members write: "As you may know, India is a significant foreign market for U.S. pecans. In 2022, the United States exported more than $1.3 million of pecans to India, and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service projects that pecan exports to India could now reach up to $5 million annually. This is a result of successful efforts in advocating for India to cut its tariff on U.S. pecan exports by 70 percent, which opened a market of more than one billion consumers to premium U.S.-grown pecans.

The Members continue: "While U.S. pecan exporters are now successfully exporting shelled pecans to India, the product purchasers in India have requested the U.S. to export in-shell pecans, which enables the pecans to travel in a more shelf-stable state and allows buyers to finish processing upon arrival in India. However, shipments of U.S. in-shell pecans cannot be completed due to the lack of appropriate plant quarantine code (PQ code) for import into India.

The Members conclude: "In 2024, the U.S. pecan industry submitted documents to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to begin the process of obtaining a PQ code, and we write to request assistance from USDA in expediting the process..."

To read the full letter to Secretary Rollins, click here.