U.S. Agricultural Exports Up 13%

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I’m Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

Good news for trade…new data showing that U.S. ag exports are up for the first quarter of this year compared to last year. Veronica Nigh is the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Senior Economist. She says that this latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that those agricultural exports are up almost 13% year-on-year…

“But, if you're like me, you're probably wondering how much inflation is contributing to that increase. So, after adjusting for inflation, 2022 year-to-date exports are up four percent by value compared to the same period last year. However, when we look at export volumes, the story isn't quite as rosy; export volumes year to date are actually down four percent compared to the same period last year.”

Statistics and lies. But she did dive into some of the areas where we are seeing growth…

“U.S. ethanol exports are up 67 percent in January through April of 2022 compared to a year ago. Soybean oil is up over 50 percent, that's likely a result of folks choosing soybean oil as a substitute for sunflower seed oil which is a major export crop out of Ukraine and Russia. Cotton is also up over 50 percent by value, beef and beef products are up also over 38 percent compared to the same point last year.”

That is Veronica Nigh. She is the Senior Economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation.