Healthy Oilseeds Beats Unhealthy Trade Barriers

Healthy Oilseeds, a processor and exporter of grains and oilseeds from Carrington, ND, recently encountered trade barriers while exporting to Peru and Algeria. With the help of the US Commercial Service (CS), Healthy Oilseeds was able to remove these barriers and successfully complete sales in both countries.

A first-time exporter to Algeria, Healthy Oilseeds received a notice in French from a third party about new regulations, where Algerian importers were now required to wire 120% of payment for imported goods to banks thirty days before a shipment leaves port for Algeria. These regulations took effect in October 2017, at the time that Healthy Oilseeds had a shipment en route to Algeria. The regulation served as a way for the Algerian government to better account for incoming shipments, as well as cover possible weakening in the Algerian Dinar during the thirty-day posting and time at sea. Gussiaas contacted CS North Dakota for urgent assistance, and over a weekend, CS North Dakota Director Heather Ranck contacted the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Commercial Service office in Algiers, and he quickly replied that the regulation only applies to finished goods, so Healthy Oilseeds’ products were exempt from the regulation. CS North Dakota staff also quickly facilitated a required document translation into French, as one of the students working at CS North Dakota was a fluent French speaker. With this assistance, Healthy Oilseeds successfully completed the transaction in Algeria.

Healthy Oilseeds also conquered a trade barrier in Peru. After participating in a trade mission, five Peruvian companies were interested in buying from Healthy Oilseeds. However, after the order had already been processed, they were informed that Peru allowed shipment from Canada and Bolivia, but not the US. Soon after this problem emerged, Steve Presing from the Enforcement and Compliance (E&C) division of the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration came to Fargo for the ND Trade Office annual conference in April 2018, when he learned about this trade barrier directly from Gussiaas at a ND District Export Council meeting. E&C works to remove or reduce foreign trade barriers for US companies. When Presing returned to Washington, DC, he contacted APHIS (USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) and APHIS worked with the Peruvian plant protection agency to verify that the product passed all phytosanitary tests, thus helping Healthy Oilseeds comply with requirements for the import of the product. Healthy Oilseed was then able to successfully deliver the product to their new customers.
“We did not know where to turn to resolve these issues, and the U.S. Commercial Service not only made it easy to find the right people who could help us, but their intervention led to quick solutions. If Heather doesn’t have an answer she knows someone that can help,” said Roger Gussiaas, owner of Healthy Oilseeds. “The global network and the helpful attitudes of the staff within the U.S. Commercial Service is of tremendous value to businesses here in the United States.”

For more information on Healthy Oilseeds, click here. For assistance with potential trade barriers, contact Heather Ranck at heather.ranck@trade.gov.