A growing hunger in developing nations for Western-style cuisine is supersizing farm exports from the state of Washington.

The state's farmers and food processors sold more than $2.2 billion worth of fruit, vegetables, wheat and meat overseas last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. That's up nearly 28 percent over the previous five years.

It's not always easy. Food safety barriers and tariffs keep Washington products out of some markets, and some places with huge potential – like India – don't have the facilities to keep produce from spoiling. But with 15.7 million acres of farmland and port facilities on Puget Sound, Washington has "natural conduits to export," says Matt Harris, the director of international trade for the Washington State Potato Commission in Moses Lake.

Frozen french fries are among the hottest export products –Washington processors exported $309 million worth of them in 2006. While American dieticians may bemoan our fast-food lifestyle here at home, in China, a growing middle class of as many as 300 million people is starting to sample Big Macs and Kentucky Fried Chicken, and deciding yes, they do want fries with that.

"A frozen potato does make a great side [dish] with your product," says Harris. "You look at the growth of the overall economy, the growth of Western food, particularly the addition of chain restaurants ... It's what consumers want."

Japan is the top market for French fries, but China bought about 36,000 metric tons of frozen American potato products last year, the majority of which came from Washington state, says Rebecca Weber, an international marketing officer for the Washington state Department of Agriculture.

That's good news for the economies of Moses Lake and the Tri- Cities. The potato commission estimates that 20,000 people in the state are involved in growing, processing and shipping potatoes, primarily in the Columbia Basin, but also in the Skagit Valley, where farmers produce specialty spuds for sale in Seattle markets.

Another top-selling fast-food side dish is corn. Central Washington farmers produce sweet corn-on-the-cob that's cut down into smaller pieces to be sold with chicken dinners at a growing number of KFC franchises across China, Weber says.

No one on Broadway sings about being as corny as Kennewick in August, but "Grant County has been the No. 1 sweet corn-producing county in the nation," Weber says. "If you drive around the Columbia Basin, you'll see a lot of sweet corn."

Apples continue to be the state's top agricultural export. Washington orchards produced more than $941 million worth of apples in 2006, according to the USDA – almost 60 percent of all apples grown nationwide. Nearly $833 million worth of fresh and processed Washington apples, pears, cherries, berries and grapes was exported last year, making Washington the No. 2 fruit-exporting state in the nation.

That's no surprise. Washington's long been known for its apples. What is surprising is that China – the world's top producer of apples – is a growing market for growers in Washington, even though cheap Chinese apples have flooded traditional markets for apple juice concentrate.

"China's the largest producer of many, many things, including apple juice, but China's also a huge market," says Tom Wahl, director of the International Marketing Program for Agricultural Commodities and Trade at Washington State University. "There's a bit of a niche market for high-quality red delicious and other varieties."

Red is considered a lucky color in Asia, he explains, and the light taste and crunchy texture of the red delicious suits Asian palettes, making them a good gift or luxury snack item in China and other Pacific Rim countries.