The Washington State Department of Agriculture is offering help to Tri-City food and agricultural businesses interested in starting to export.

On April 15, the department will have representatives in the Tri-Cities to help businesses get a start in a potentially lucrative market.

Food exports continue to grow dramatically, with a record $8.6 billion in sales of Washington-origin food and agricultural products to foreign markets in 2011.

The 90-minute market advising clinics will include one-on-one consulting with a Department of Agriculture representative from Japan, Korea, China or Mexico to help small ag businesses export their products for the first time or consider expanding their foreign markets to new countries.

To register for these export seminars, contact Julie Johnson at jjohnson@agr.wa.gov or 360-902-1940.

After the consultation, the Department of Agriculture will help set up meetings between foreign buyers and small ag businesses.

The effort is paid for by a federal State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) program grant.