Congress may help grain exports-House Speaker

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congress may have to examine ways to
help American farmers export their wheat, corn and soybeans
because Hurricane Katrina devastated the Port of New Orleans, a
key shipping point, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said on
Friday.

Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said lawmakers were
concerned about “farmers’ ability to get their grain to
marketplace, because the Port of New Orleans has been basically
put out of service.”

“We might have to look at some different ways to do that,”
he told a news conference after a meeting with House Republican
leaders on the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Hastert did not
elaborate.

U.S. farm losses from Hurricane Katrina are estimated at
roughly $2 billion but that figure could rise, depending on how
long farm exports from New Orleans are delayed, agricultural
economists said.

Rain and wind damage to Gulf Coast crops was expected to
have limited impact on overall U.S. farm output. Mammoth corn,
soybean, cotton and rice crops have been forecast by the U.S.
Agriculture Department.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, a U.S. farm group,
estimated crop, poultry and livestock losses from the hurricane
at $1 billion with an additional $1 billion in lost export
sales and higher fuel prices.

Most Gulf ports were closed on Friday, the sixth day that
grain export traffic was stalled. The shutdown sapped market
prices.

Exports account for a quarter of cash receipts for U.S.
farmers. The flooded New Orleans area is a key export point for
farmers, with 60 percent of U.S. corn and soybean exports
passing through the area.