EXIM Chairman Reed Presents American Botanicals with Exporter of the Year Award
November 13, 2020
(Ex-Im Bank)
Missouri Small Business Supplier of Spices, Herbs, and Botanicals Utilizes
EXIM’s Export Credit Insurance to Export More Than $8 Million in Past Six
Years
EOLIA, Missouri — Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and
Chairman Kimberly A. Reed yesterday presented an EXIM 2020 Exporter of the Year
award to American
Botanicals (link is external) and toured the company’s facilities in
Eolia, Missouri.
American Botanicals, which has used EXIM’s export credit insurance to support
its international sales since 2010, also was honored virtually during EXIM’s
2020 Annual Conference in September. The small business provides bulk organic
spices, herbs, and botanicals to nutraceutical, companion animal, health,
cosmetic, flavor and color, and food and beverage manufacturers throughout the
world. A globally recognized manufacturer of quality spices and botanicals, the
company is headquartered in Missouri, with facilities in Virginia and Nevada.
With a history of specializing in wildcrafted botanicals since 1994, American
Botanicals is committed to supporting sustainable practices and building strong
relationships in the rural communities where it operates. A majority of the
medicinal botanicals used in its products are purchased directly from U.S.
farmers and collectors, creating income streams for hundreds of individuals
across rural America.
“American Botanicals is a great Missouri success story that illustrates how
EXIM can help U.S. small businesses increase their international sales, and I am
proud to recognize this thriving company as a 2020 Exporter of the Year. Given
my experience with American agriculture and food and ingredient supply chains, I
was honored to talk with American Botanicals President Don Stock and Trade Risk
Group Partner John Koch about how this company represents the backbone of the
U.S. economy and helps support even more jobs—such as thousands of individual
collectors who gather plant leaves, herbs, roots, bark, flowers, and petals—in
rural communities across the nation,” said Chairman Reed. “It was exciting
to see how the wild ginseng, goldenseal, and slippery elm bark collected in the
rugged Appalachian mountains of my home state of West Virginia made their way to
American Botanicals in Missouri and then—because of the protection EXIM’s
export credit insurance provides—how the products will be exported to foreign
countries where they are in demand. In the end, it is expanded business success
for American Botanicals and more opportunities for U.S. workers.”
To mitigate the risk of selling its products in the global marketplace, American
Botanicals began using EXIM’s export credit insurance in 2010, allowing the
company to expand into nearly a dozen new countries. With 130 employees, exports
now account for nearly 40 percent of the company’s revenue. Since 2014, EXIM
has supported exports valued at more than $8 million.
“Through EXIM, we have been able to increase our revenue by expanding export
sales while minimizing risk and maximizing the borrowing base of our credit
facility,” said Donald Stock, President of American Botanicals. “There is
revenue out there— go for it with EXIM as your business partner!”
American Botanicals’ policies are facilitated by EXIM credit insurance broker
Trade Risk Group of St. Charles, Missouri.
“Since 2010, American Botanicals has relied on the export credit insurance
protection offered by EXIM to reduce the risk of nonpayment of their export
invoices for the company's foreign customers,” said John R. Koch, Partner with
Trade Risk Group, who joined the tour. “The EXIM export credit insurance
enabled American Botanicals to access higher levels of working capital from
their lender to finance their export sales. This coverage program also allows
American Botanicals to extend longer, more competitive open account payment
terms for foreign customers, which result in growth of export sales. When
considering these positive impacts on American Botanicals through job creation
both for them as well as downstream from their small business U.S. suppliers,
EXIM is truly achieving its goal of growing jobs through export support. I also
want to thank Chairman Reed for her leadership in revitalizing EXIM and
energizing it in new ways for American exporters. Her visit here today is
greatly appreciated as it raises awareness among small businesses of how
exporting can help them thrive.”
Since 2014, EXIM has supported exports valued at $916 million from 79
companies—including 59 small businesses like American Botanicals—across
Missouri. Approximately 90 percent of EXIM authorizations directly support small
businesses.
U.S. companies, particularly small businesses, can utilize EXIM’s financing
tools and resources to increase their international sales, showcase their
“Made in the USA” products, and sustain American jobs. By partnering with
EXIM, exporters can mitigate the risk of nonpayment on international sales,
offer credit terms to foreign buyers, and access working capital loan
guarantees. In addition, EXIM has implemented several COVID-19 (coronavirus)
relief measures for U.S. exporters and financial institutions to enhance the
agency’s existing programs.
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