Small Business Participation in MPP

Pursuant to congressional requests, GAO provided information on the extent of small business participation in the Foreign Agricultural Service's Market Promotion Program (MPP). GAO noted that: (1) 11 of the top 50 firms in the program meet the Small Business Administration's (SBA) size standards for small businesses; (2) the 11 firms received 17.6 percent of MPP funding in fiscal year (FY) 1992; (3) although the top 50 firms received 64 percent of the allocated funds, they were not representative of the 550 firms that received MPP funds during FY 1992; and (4) the overall MPP participation rate of small businesses is probably higher than estimated, since smaller firms are not likely to have marketing programs large enough to receive significant MPP funds.