Friday, December 23, 2016
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/best-of-charts-of-note-2016/
The value of U.S. agricultural exports and
imports increased each year from fiscal year (FY) 2009 (October
1-September 30), through FY 2014, when the agricultural trade balance
reached an all-time high of $43.1 billion. In FY 2015 the value of
agricultural exports fell by 8.3 percent while imports grew by 4.5
percent, cutting the trade balance to 25.7 billion. The forecast for FY
2016 is for this pattern to continue: lower exports and higher imports
are expected to push the agricultural trade surplus below $10 billion
for the first time since 2006. Lower commodity prices account for some
of the decline in the value of exports, but a stronger U.S. dollar also
plays a role. Unlike in 2009 when both exports and imports fell due to
the global recession, in 2015 and 2016 imports are growing at the same
time that exports are falling, reflecting the greater purchasing power
of the U.S. dollar in international markets and the reduced purchasing
power of foreign currencies to buy U.S. goods. This chart is from the
USDA/ERS Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS) dataset
and the December Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade report.