Announcements from U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s, D-GA, week highlight the wide array of issues Washington covers. First, an announcement of $650,000 for housing upgrades for low-income home owners. Second, following a request from Ossoff’s office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has begun collecting assessments on imported pecans.
The funding for the housing upgrades come from the Department of Agriculture’s Housing Preservation Grants program. They will be delivered to non-profit organizations and local government to complete repairs and rehabilitation for low-income Georgians living in rural areas.
Both Ossoff and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-GA, pointed to housing affordability issues regarding the repair and rehabilitation funding.
“Senator Reverend Warnock and I are delivering these resources to help improve the quality of housing for Georgia families,” said Sen. Ossoff. “Working families in Georgia urgently need access to affordable housing.”
Presumably, the funding for the repairs will help keep home owners in their homes, limiting safety concerns and keeping more houses in the overall supply.
“I’ve seen firsthand how difficult it is for hardworking people to afford a home, which is why I am glad Senator Osssoff and I are able to deliver new federal investments that will make it easier for Georgians to find better, more affordable housing,” said Warnock. “These investments will help keep costs down and ensure our most vulnerable Georgians have a roof over their head. As a child who grew up in public housing, this is personal to me, so I won’t stop fighting to strengthen access to affordable housing across our state.”
As for the pecans, those assessments fund programs like the American Pecan Promotion Board (APPB) that work to boost sales of American pecans – a possible major win for Georgia farmers. About 80 percent of the world’s pecans are produced in the U.S. and about a third of those are produced in the Peach state (ironically, the country’s third largest peach producer and dwarfed by California which produces about 20 times more peaches).
Earlier this year, India announced a 70 percent cut to tariffs on U.S. pecan exports – helping to open up a market of more than a billion people. A report from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture highlighted India’s consumption of tree nuts (like pecans) and how they were formerly reserved for Indian holidays. Now, as the Indian population is increasingly exposed to western products and western foods, Indian consumers are eating more of these kinds of foods throughout the year. The country does not produce pecans of its own and the nuts are seen as healthier, natural food so the market opportunity is strong. The APPB’s offices are certainly aware of these details and the pecan might be set for a boom on the sub-continent. Despite some losses from hurricane damage last year, with pecan prices up about a dollar from 20 years ago, Georgia pecan farmers could be in good shape.
