Food aid has positive impact

Your story, "Shippers Debate Food Aid Rules," does not accurately reflect the positive impacts that shipping food aid has on the U.S. economy. The recent report, compiled by the independent consultancy Promar International, highlighted that more than 13,000 jobs are created through handling, processing and transporting commodities from farms to U.S. ports to foreign ports. Additionally, more than 97,000 jobs in other parts of the U.S. economy are created as a result of deep sea freight transportation.

As mentioned in your story, the USA Maritime Coalition supports the cargo preference law for the Food for Peace program because it provides an essential margin of cargo for U.S. shippers. Additionally, it helps to alleviate hunger and improve nutrition in struggling populations around the world. Cargo preference laws are critical to our nation's national security and ensure the sustainability of vessels and trained merchant seamen for a U.S.-flag sealift capability. Therefore, it is completely inaccurate to say that using U.S. flag vessels to ship food aid has not helped serve the cargo preference law's original purpose. In fact, using U.S. flag vessels to ship food aid ensures defense-ready American flag vessels are available for our nation's military in a time of need.

Another inaccuracy in the story surrounds the allotments of food aid allocations. The reporter wrongly states that one-half of food aid allocations go to transportation costs. While a 2007 report issued by the Government Accountability Office states that 65 percent of expenditures are for costs other than the food itself, only 10.6 percent of appropriations for Food for Peace are for net ocean freight costs. The remainder of cost is found in administrative costs, internal handling and transportation costs in the destination country and transportation and processing costs within the United States.

For this story to have served as an accurate picture of the food aid debate, it would have emphasized the extraordinarily positive impact food aid has on the international community, as well as the thousands of shippers, farmers and transportation workers who make this program a success.

Clint Eisenhauer

vice president

Maersk, Inc.

Washington, D.C.