WASHINGTON – What's a Waxahachie corn dog machine maker to do when it wants to sell overseas?

You might think there's not much market for this product in, say, Asia. But food on a stick isn't limited to the State Fair of Texas. Greek soldiers were grilling shish kebabs back in the days of Homer and Aristophanes.

Those kebabs, along with fairway corn dogs, are typically made by hand. Automated Food Systems Inc. of Waxahachie makes machines that take the handiwork out of food on a stick. The firm has 14 full-time employees. Marketing director Chris Consalus said sales are roughly $5 million a year, and exports can be as much as half of that.

"We're international because it's not an infinite market here. ... It's a mature market, relatively saturated," he said.

What he wishes he had, Consalus said, is "a comprehensive resource of exporting. ... What do I need to know? What are the pitfalls so I don't get put in jail? What are the stamps I need, the packaging?"

Automated Food Systems managers bumped into international buyers at U.S. trade shows. They discovered a Korean corn dog market that got its start with the appetites of U.S. troops. Most overseas sales, however, involve shish kebab machines that are used in Europe.

Luck always helps. There are other resources, however.

The U.S. Commerce Department has export assistance centers across the country, including one in Fort Worth (www.buyusa.gov /fortworth). In Dallas, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Dallas County Community Colleges run an International Small Business Development Center (www.iexportimport .com) at the Infomart on Stemmons Freeway.

"We tend to see people on 911 calls, when they have a problem situation – their goods are stuck in customs, they need a certificate of free sale or origin," said Lorraine McCord, director of the Dallas center.

"The thing we need most is more awareness of what we are," she said. "When we see people, the first thing they say is, 'Boy, I wish I'd heard of you two years or three years ago.' "

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk mentioned the Dallas trade center Monday at a news conference where he said his office would see how it could help American small businesses sell abroad.

"It's a one-stop shop to assist and answer questions," he said. At the trade representative's office, Kirk said, finding ways for the federal government to help small businesses navigate overseas sales would henceforth be a priority.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is another reference source.

The chamber created a special office called TradeRoots that travels the country putting would-be exporters in touch with government resources.

TradeRoots director Liz Reilly said the resource centers "do a fairly good job, given the resources they have."

The problem, she argued, is that "it hasn't been promoted effectively."

Last year, our trade deficit was $677 billion. Our budget deficit was about $1.58 trillion for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30. Paying for all this debt requires savings that we don't have, so we borrow from the rest of the world.

To curb the borrowing, we have to export. Despite our economic weaknesses, Reilly pointed out that the United States still leads the world in manufacturing – but that accounts for only 10 percent of U.S. trade.

Texas leads all states in exports, with nearly $192 billion in overseas sales last year of commodities and manufactured goods. Most of that came from big companies – especially oil refiners and petrochemical plants. McCord estimated that the 200 or so companies that went through her office last year looking for help exported $48 million in goods.

That won't mend our deficits.

"At the State Fair of Texas, you can get the best jalapeño corn dog you can find in your life," former Dallas Mayor Kirk said.

To share such delicacies with the rest of the world, however, will take more work.