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Thursday, April 23, 2009
National Promotion Board
The idea of a national promotion board for fruits and vegetables isn't new, but the time is right for the industry to support one, said Liz Pivonka, president and CEO of the Produce for Better Health Foundation. A task force was formed in 2008 by PBH to look at the potential value of a national board. Based on the task force recommendations, Pivonka is presenting a national board idea to the industry, and if response is good a proposal could be submitted to USDA as early as next year. Following discussion and feedback, assessments for a national promotion board could begin by 2012.
The board would represent more than 30 commodity groups as an umbrella organization that would promote the increased consumption of all those products. The initial figure is $30 million for a campaign, for an industry valued at $71 billion farmgate. If a promotion could increase FOB sales just 1%, the return on investment would be a 23-fold, Pivonka said.
The program would be funded by the industry, with an assessment applied on a certain days' FOB price. The assessment would be paid by the first handler, including processors, importers and packers. The rate for a $30 million campaign would be 0.046% - or $23,000 for a company with $50 million in sales. Having a national board in place also could pave the way for matching funds in the next Farm Bill in 2012.
The promotions board would be an industry-run organization that gets its initial start from USDA. The agency will approve board members, and then the board will seat members on committees. There could be as many as 100 members, with the makeup being 62% fresh handlers, 21% processors and 17% importers.
The plan was presented April 22 and 23, and the response wasn't as good as Pivonk would have hoped, she said. What's needed now is for handlers to step forward to champion the board, because promotions have worked for other industries and could benefit the produce industry by increasing sales.
posted by Great American Publishing
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1:33 PM
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