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With 11 months of fiscal 1998 completed, cumulative U.S. agricultural exports have reached $50.3 billion, 5 percent below exports in the first 11 months of fiscal 1997. Exports in August 1998 dropped below both August 1997 and July 1998.

Year-to-date imports, however, are up 4 percent to $34.1 billion. August imports remained about the same as in August 1997, but fell from July 1998. The October-August export surplus is $16.2 billion, 19 percent less than in 1997.

Exports-Cumulative bulk exports for fiscal 1998 now stand at $18.9 billion, 13 percent less than in the first 11 months of 1997.Corn accounts for most of the decline, although soybeans and cotton have also fallen below last year in both quantity and value. Wheat export value is down, although quantity is up.

At $4 billion, U.S. corn exports are 30 percent less than in 1997. But August exports were about the same as in July.

U.S. wheat exports have reached $3.5 billion, down from $3.6 billion in the same period last year. But at 23.3 million tons, the volume to date is still 9 percent above the 11-month total for 1997. August exports rose slightly from July.

Soybean exports are slightly below 1997 in quantity and value. Volume has slipped 1.5 percent and value, at $5.9 billion, is down from $6.6 billion last year. Soybean exports continue to experience strong competition from South America.

Cumulative 1998 U.S. cotton exports equal $2.4 billion and are 8 percent below 1997. Export quantity also has dipped fractionally from 1997, despite low prices, as competition continues to rise.

At #31.3 billion, however, high-value product (HVP) exports remain slightly above 1997's #31.2 billion, but growth has begun to slow in response to sluggish global demand. Although exports of red meats are slightly higher this year, exports of poultry meat have dropped about $1 billion from 1997. Exports of fruits also are down nearly $2 billion. But exports of vegetables, soybean meal, nuts, and wine are slightly stronger, and soybean oil exports are 79 percent above 1997.

Imports--Vegetables, wine, malt beverages, and cocoa have led import growth this year. Imports of vegetables, the largest import group, rose 18 percent to nearly $4 billion. At $2 billion, fruit imports, another large group, also are up about 5 percent. The $1.7 billion in wine imports and the $1.5 billion in malt beverage imports show year-to-date gains of 14 and 15 percent, respectively.

Canada and Mexico are the largest suppliers of vegetables to the United States in 1998. U.S. vegetable imports from Mexico are up 23 percent to $1.7 billion, while imports from Canada have risen 35 percent to $806 million. (Carol Whitton 202-694-5287)

Latin America is the second largest U.S. export market after Asia-In value terms, Latin America has emerged as the second largest market for U.S. agricultural exports in each of the last 3 fiscal years, slightly surpassing Western Europe, which dropped to third. Much of the gain is in exports to Mexico. Although Mexico dominates the Latin American market, exports to other countries in the region also expanded.

After Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Guatemala, and El Salvador take the most U.S. agricultural exports. Together the nine countries accounted for 80 percent of total U.S. exports to Latin America in fiscal 1997 and just a little more than that so far in fiscal 1998. The growing size of this market is one of the factors contributing to U.S. concern over possible expansion of the Asian financial crisis into Latin America.

The most important U.S. agricultural exports to Latin America, in quantity terms, include: baby chickens, corn, wheat, and soybeans. Also important, but mainly to Mexico, are whole cattle hides, other hides and skins, sorghum, and other live poultry. Soybean meal, rice, and fruit juice exports to Latin America go primarily to Central America and the Caribbean.

See Related Websites/Articles:

• USDA

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