An upsurge in demand by China, the top customer for U.S. food and agricultural goods, will boost U.S. farm exports to $136 billion this year, the first upturn in sales since 2014, said the Agriculture Department. The quarterly forecast is $2 billion higher than USDA’s estimate in November, “largely due to expected increases in livestock, poultry, and dairy exports.”
“Strong foreign demand and higher prices help boost livestock, poultry, and dairy
exports by $1.6 billion, with beef, pork, and dairy leading the increase from the last
report,” said USDA economists.
Sales to China are forecast at $22.3 billion, up by $3 billion from last year. “While shipments of sorghum and DDGS (distillers dried grains, a livestock feed) have declined, China continues to have a strong appetite for soybeans, cotton, pork and pork variety meats, and dairy (especially whey products),” said USDA.
Exports to Canada, the No. 2 market, and Mexico, the No. 3 customer, also are forecast to increase from last year’s levels. The three nations buy 45 percent of U.S. farm exports.
Sales to China have increased by more than 125 percent in the past decade, said USDA chief economist Robert Johansson. China accounts for two-thirds of world soybean trade.