Posted June 4, 2014
Agricultural exports will reach a record high of $149.5 billion in 2014, according to an article on Southeast Farm Press available here. Reuters also published an article available here and Farm Futures here.
The Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade report states the growth is a result of rising prices, but will also be from an increase in volume of U.S. agricultural exports, which is expected to increase by 31 percent over 2013.
It would be a second straight year of record U.S. agricultural exports, which totaled $140.9 billion last year, according to Reuters.
Tom Vilsack U. S. Agriculture Secretary applauded the “increasing global appetite for high-quality, American-grown product.”
“USDA will continue to focus its efforts on tapping into new markets for what is grown and made in rural America. Today, only one percent of U.S. companies export, and yet 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the borders of the United States, creating significant opportunities for U.S. food and agriculture. Thanks to resources in the 2014 Farm Bill, USDA is able to continue support for trade promotion and market expansion for U.S. agricultural products overseas—programs that return $35 in economic benefits for every dollar invested,” Vilsack said according to Southeast Farm Press.
Vilsack highlighted recent progress on trade issues with Mexico after a panel discussion with Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture Enrique Martínez y Martínez at the Global Forum on Agro Food Expectations in Mexico City, according to Farm Futures.
“Mexico is an important strategic ally and a critical economic partner to the United States. In recent months, we have made progress on a number of issues that will help increase economic opportunity for both of our countries,” Vilsack shared in a USDA statement.
Funding additions in the farm bill such as the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program, will help expand exports by creating ad maintaining long-term markets for U.S. agricultural products.
For more information on international trade, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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