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Congress may help grain exports-House Speaker

Posted on: Friday, 2 September 2005, 18:43 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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