By Clint Thompson
U.S. agricultural exports produced record results in 2021. The fiscal year (FY) 2022 forecast is projected to even eclipse that $177 billion number.
Daniel B. Whitley, administrator in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, said projections are forecast for $183.5 billion for FY 2022.
“This is unprecedented. This is unheard of,” Whitley said during the USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum. “This speaks to the reputation of American agriculture and the demand for American agricultural products all around the world. We think it’s because of the performance of all of our critical industries in the trade space that have performed over and over again regardless of the conditions of the trading environment that we can be seen as reliable supplier. We’re looking to take advantage of this growing demand that we have a world with a number of growing middle class citizens in Southeast Asia, parts of Latin America. I feel we’ve got new market opportunities in the Middle East that will be unprecedented in terms of the rate of growth, the rate of demand for American agriculture products.
“I think this forecast can easily be realized. To be honest, the race for $200 (billion) is on. I don’t know how many years it will take us.”
The projection would shatter the $172.2 billion mark set in FY 2021.
China remains the top export market at $33.4 billion, followed by Canada ($24.1 billion), Mexico ($23.9 billion), Japan ($13.6 billion), European Union ($10.6 billion), South Korea ($9.2 billion), Taiwan ($3.8 billion), Vietnam ($3.6 billion), Philippines ($3.6 billion) and Indonesia ($3.1 billion).
There were 28 international markets where U.S. exports exceeded $1 billion.