Percentage of U.S. Total Export Value from Ag Hits New High

The total value of U.S. exports has grown at an average annual rate of six percent since 2002, reaching a record high of $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2021. Agriculture's share of total U.S. exports has also steadily increased between fiscal years 2002 and 2021.

The value of America's agricultural product exports rose by an average of 11 percent annually, exceeding the overall rate of increase for total U.S. exports. In 2021, ag exports accounted for 12 percent of the total value, up from nine percent in 2002.

Growth in agricultural exports has largely been resilient to market shocks like COVID-19. Even as total U.S. exports fell by 12 percent during the onset of COVID in 2020, ag exports remained steady on the strength of surging shipments of soybeans, corn, and pork to China. Ag exports surged 23 percent to $172 billion in 2021. The Ag export forecast for 2022 is a record $196 billion.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Despite competition from other agricultural production areas, U.S. ag exports continued to be a bright spot for our overall economy. Importers know the high quality of U.S. produced ag commodities and products. They are also familiar with our reliability as a supplier. A great deal of the success can be directly attributed to the negotiation of more favorable trade agreements over the past decade. Finally, the type of collaboration between farmers, commodity organizations, private sector companies and state or federal government, has also been a positive factor in the overall ag export picture. This is precisely why we continue to point out just how important exports are to the overall health of the ag economy. Exports are a key reason farmers have the income available to purchase or lease those new vehicles from CAD members like you. The new 2023 year is a perfect time to sign up for CAD 2.0 and get all of your inventory on AgTruckTrader.com!