* see footnote/Source: usda
In 2010, the U.S. agricultural exports reached a record high of $115.8 billion but imports reached a new high, as well, totalling $81.9 billion.
The U.S. is a breadbasket for the world which presents good balance sheet opportunities for producing agricultural export commodities. Previously, I've written Agricultural Exports versus the U.S. Trade Deficit which concluded that the 2009 U.S. trade surplus in agricultural goods was equivalent to 7 percent of the year's total trade deficit. If food equals oil, then we are not equaling the two in export value, because in 2009 our U.S. agricultural surplus erased only 13 percent of our petroleum trade deficit.
Also, when the USD falls in value as it has during this past year, these imported products become more expensive.
What is the U.S. importing in agricultural products which are equal to 70% of the amount that we export? Below, find the most recent rankings of the top fifteen of these products which vary in rank from year to year, followed by the top countries from which we import.
Top 15 Agricultural Import Commodities for fiscal year 2010 (Billion Dollars):
1) Coffee and products 4.39 billion $$
2) Cocoa and products 4.29
3) Wine 4.23
4) Malt Beverages 3.47
5) Beef and Veal fresh or frozen 2.60
6) Rubber/allied Gums Crude 2.43
7) Biscuits and wafers 2.36
8) Other Grains and Preps 2.19
9) Essential Oils 2.02
10) Miscellaneous Horticultural Products 1.95
11) Sugar Cane and Beet 1.85
12) Other Beverages 1.82
13) Tomatoes Fresh 1.79
14) Bananas/Plantains fresh/frozen 1.74
15) Cattle and Calves 1.52
source: ERS NOV 2010
Top 15 U.S. agricultural import sources for fiscal year 2010 (Billion Dollars):
1) Canada xxx
2) European union xxx
3) Mexico xxx
4) China 3.21 billion $
5) Brazil 2.64
6) Indonesia 2.63
7) Australia 2.32
8) Chile 2.27
9) Thailand 1.92
10) Colombia 1.85
11) New Zealand 1.62
12) Malaysia 1.60
13) India 1.50
14) Guatemala 1.38
15) Costa Rica 1.25
source: ERS NOV 2010
Also See: Agricultural Imports Part I.
Note that not included in the above USDA statistics is seafood, of which we import 84% (2009), or $13.1 billion mainly from China, Thailand, Canada, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ecuador, and Chile.
*1/ USDA defines agriculture to include: live animals, meat, and products of livestock, poultry, and dairy; hides and skins (but not leather products); animal fats and greases; food and feed grains and grain products; oilseeds and oilseed products; fruits, nuts, and vegetables and products of these; juices, wine, and malt beverages (not distilled spirits); essential oils; planting seeds; raw cotton, wool, and other fibers (not manufactured products of these); unmanufactured tobacco (not manufactured tobacco products); sugar and sugar products; coffee, cocoa, tea, and products of these; rubber and allied products; and stock for nurseries and greenhouses, spices, and crude or natural drugs. Fish, shellfish, and forestry products are not included in "agriculture."
2/ October 1 of previous year through September 30 of current year.
3/ Exports minus imports.
Data are not seasonally adjusted. Totals revised to incorporate annual revisions by Bureau of Census.
Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, using data summed from the Bureau of Census, U.S. Department of Commerce.