Latest Ag Trade
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The latest Ag trade figures are ‘mixed’ as bipartisan criticism of the White House’s refusal to do free trade deals continues.
USDA Economist Bart Kenner says the Ag trade balance is in negative territory …
KENNER … “Agricultural exports for fiscal year-to-date, October through March 2024, are 94.4 billion dollars, down six percent from the previous year. Agricultural imports through March 2024 were 101.3 Billion dollars, up 2% from the previous year, for a trade deficit of 6.9 billion dollars.”
Down more than $8 Billion from last year’s trade surplus.
Senate Republican John Thune …
THUNE … “Market access is what our farmers and ranchers are looking for to open up the markets, so they can sell their products and get the trade deficit back to a trade surplus and get this net farm income back in the positive column.”
Trade Representative cites some recent market gains, but Foreign Ag Services chief Dan Whitley says that hasn’t changed the overall trade figures …
WHITLEY … “What we’ve seen is the South American crop rebound from three straight years of poor weather. They came and had a historical crop, like a once-in-a-generation crop, and that crop competed with what we were doing here.”
U.S. export VALUE is down 19% from last year, while VOLUMES are up 5% for wheat and 36% for corn.
