USDA has announced it has purchased more than $2.2 billion of meat, produce, dairy, and specialty produce in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 to assist producers affected by trade retaliation tariffs and measures.
The department notes it is on target to reach its fiscal year goal of $1.4 billion of trade mitigation purchases in the next phase of fiscal year purchasing. The purchases were made through the Food Purchase and Distribution Program (FPDP), and were mostly provided to states for nutrition assistance programs.
“Our farmers work hard, and are the most productive in the world, and we crafted the FPDP to help protect them,” said USDA Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in an official statement. “The FPDP represents just one of the many ways USDA is working hard to fulfill its mission to do right and feed everyone.”
