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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 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.

(L-R): American Botanicals President Don Stock, EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed (holding slippery elm bark picked in her home state of West Virginia to be exported to Australia for medicinal purposes), and Trade Risk Group Partner John Koch.

"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.

ABOUT EXIM:

EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.

For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.