US Ag Exports To Rise 26%
5 August 2011 Agriculture exports in the United States are expected to rise to a record $137 billion, up 26% over 2010, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Imports will reach a record as well projected at $93 billion, a more than 30% increase compared to last year.
In terms of exports, cotton, corn and rice largely accounted for the higher monetization of crop exports. Livestock is projected to have sizeable gains as well.
The increases in US exports are centered on heightened demand from Asia, primarily China and South Korea, the latter due to a recent trade agreement. Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia also drove heightened exports from the US.
Exports to China in the first half of 2011 totaled $15 billion, which is 20% of all US exports. Canada and Mexico, the country’s No. 2 and No. 3 markets, respectively, are flat compared to 2010. Elsewhere in the Americas, agriculture exports rose in Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
In the US, higher household spending on food and beverages, as well as higher commodity prices, helped drive an 18% rise in imports in the first half of 2011 compared to the same period last year. Tropical products, mainly sugar, coffee, cocoa and rubber, made up the bulk of the increase compared to last year.
— David Frabotta, Editor
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