WASHINGTON, August 26, 2008 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently launched an enhanced U.S. foreign agricultural trade searchable database called the Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS).

"We are pleased to offer our numerous customers this upgrade to enhance the availability of trade data," said FAS Administrator Michael Michener. "GATS will prove to be an incredibly valuable tool for quickly and easily performing research and analysis on U.S. trade data."

The GATS database, which replaces the current U.S. trade data system, will provide users with U.S. agricultural data not previously available from FAS, including U.S. Customs District trade data, monthly and annual trade data going back to 1967, and U.S. state export data. Users will also be able to use GATS to produce charts and graphs.

GATS will help exporters and government officials keep up with fluctuations in U.S. agricultural trade. This information can help formulate marketing and negotiating objectives and strategies. Policy makers, program administrators, farmers, exporters, food aid organizations and others will be able to use this information to plan activities and make decisions.

GATS may be accessed at http://www.fas.usda.gov/gats and includes an on-line user help manual. In addition, users may e-mail questions to GATSHelp@fas.usda.gov.

#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).