A quiet but potentially significant shift in federal lending policy took effect this week as the U.S. Small Business Administration formally expanded its International Trade Loan (ITL) Program to cover a broad swath of the agricultural supply chain — from fruit and tree nut farmers to refrigerated warehousing operators and specialized freight carriers.

Dubbed the “grocery guarantee,” the program offers eligible small businesses a 90% federal loan guarantee, a notable step up from the 75% guarantee attached to the SBA’s standard 7(a) loan product. The higher guarantee is designed to give community and regional lenders more confidence to deploy capital into agricultural operations that may otherwise face tighter credit conditions.

The numbers behind the program

The ITL carries a maximum loan amount of $5 million, with the SBA backing up to $4.5 million of that exposure directly. Repayment terms run up to 25 years — considerably longer than the SBA’s Export Working Capital product, which caps at three years — making it better suited to financing fixed assets, equipment or capacity expansions rather than short-term operating needs.

For scale: the SBA deployed $45 billion in total guaranteed lending in FY2025, a 44% jump from $31.1 billion the prior year, across roughly 85,000 small businesses. According to a Wilary Winn analysis of SBA 7(a) loan data, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting accounts for approximately 2% of gross program approvals — representing roughly $9.4 billion in cumulative lending over the life of the program. The ITL has historically represented a fraction of that, as its trade-linked eligibility requirements kept it out of reach for purely domestic operators. The Grocery Guarantee expansion removes that barrier for ag businesses.

Who qualifies — and when

Eligibility opens May 1 and spans more than two dozen NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) categories, including cattle ranching, poultry and egg production, aquaculture, fruit and tree nut farming and support services for both crop and animal production. The program also extends to downstream players: grocery retailers, packaged frozen food wholesalers, farm supply merchants and cold-storage and farm warehousing operators are all listed as eligible industry codes.

What it means for operators

For agricultural businesses carrying expansion plans — whether that’s adding processing capacity, upgrading equipment, or scaling distribution — the ITL program offers long-term financing terms that shorter-duration working capital products don’t. The elevated guarantee percentage may be the more meaningful detail for borrowers in rural markets where lender appetite for ag credit has tightened in recent cycles.

The SBA noted the program can be paired with its MARC (Manufacturer’s Access to Revolving Credit) and Working Capital Pilot products, giving borrowers and their lenders some flexibility in structuring financing packages.

Context

The announcement arrives as food price pressures remain a political flashpoint. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler framed the program explicitly as a response to elevated grocery costs, citing the administration’s broader goal of expanding domestic food production and supply. The SBA reported deploying more than $7 billion to rural communities in 2025.

Lenders and small businesses can reach SBA’s Finance Managers team for program details and application guidance.

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