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Wranglers Round Up Equine Exports
By Priscilla Joseph
Symbolizing the lingering
mystique of the Western frontier and fancied by millions, horses
are big business at home and abroad for U.S. entrepreneurs.
The 6.9 million horses in the United States are at the center of $25.3 billion worth of goods and services produced per year.
In fact, the horse industry's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is greater than the textile and apparel industry, the lumber and wood sector and the tobacco product industry.
Besides the overall income it generates, the U.S. equine industry provides entertainment at horse shows, rodeos and race tracks.
The "horsey set" reined in about $223 million in 1996 at shows, and rodeo fans bucked up another $104 million.
But these amounts pale beside the income generated by the horse racing industry. Last year, 71 million people wagered $14 billion at U.S. race tracks. Wins and losses aside, the coffers of state governments gained $624 million in tax revenues and thousands of jobs were created.
American Quarter Horse No. 1
Over the past 10 years, the demand for
U.S. horses worldwide has been heating up. In 1996, the United
States exported over 45,000 horses, valued at $250 million.
Largest markets include Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and France. Other important markets are Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.
Leading the stampede of exports is the American Quarter Horse (AQH). Bred since the 1600s for strength and endurance, the versatility of this U.S. animal has made it the world's most popular horse breed.
Close to 230,000, or 18 percent of the 3.1 million AQH registered with the American Quarter Horse Association, are in overseas markets. In fact, while the U.S. AQH population is increasing about 3 percent a year, the foreign population is expanding 5 percent yearly.
Also showing in the exporter's winner circle are the Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) and Thoroughbreds. Because of its comfortable gait, the TWH is preferred by riders using English saddles for English riding. Demand for these gaited U.S. horses centers in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Due to the international demand, the TWH Association experienced a 9-percent increase in new registrations, a 9-percent increase in ownership transfers and a 72-percent increase in memberships over the past 5 years.
Primary markets for U.S. Thoroughbreds: United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Japan.
Another Thoroughbred market coming up fast in an outside position is South Korea, where demand for U.S. racehorses is sprinting ahead. U.S. horse traders have won market share from Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
Thoroughbred breeders in Maryland, taking advantage of this galloping South Korean market, have worked with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and a Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) cooperator, U.S. Livestock Genetics Export, Inc. (USLGE), to ship Thoroughbreds to this new market.
Maryland exporters expect sales to the South Korean market to approach $3 million by the end of the year. And they anticipate continued sound prospects--South Korean entrepreneurs, intent on good value, plan to lease a farm in Maryland to expedite future export sales.
The author is a marketing specialist with the Dairy, Livestock and Poultry Division of the Foreign Agricultural Service. Tel.: (202) 720-6550; Fax: (202) 720-0617; E-mail: JosephP@fas.usda.gov
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