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THE United States exported a total of US$140.5 billion worth of agricultural exports for fiscal year 2017, ending September 30, an increase of $10.9 billion over the previous fiscal year, according to recent data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
China was the largest export market for US agricultural goods, totalling $22 billion, USDA said. Canada was the second largest US export market at $20.4 billion, while Mexico imported $18.6 billion worth of US agricultural goods. Japan was the fourth largest export market at $11.8 billion. The remainder of the top 10 overseas markets for US agricultural goods include the European Union ($11.6 billion), South Korea ($6.9 billion), Hong Kong ($4 billion), Taiwan ($3.4 billion), Indonesia ($3 billion) and the Philippines ($2.6 billion).
US bulk commodity exports overall set a volume record at 159 million metric tonnes, up 11 per cent from fiscal year 2016, with a value of $51.4 billion, according to USDA figures. Soybeans was the top US bulk agricultural export at 60 million metric tonnes, with a value $24 billion. The value of cotton exports increased 70 per cent to $5.9 billion, while wheat exports rose 21 per cent to $6.2 billion and corn exports bumped up 6 per cent to $9.7 billion.
Meanwhile, US dairy exports during fiscal year 2017 grew 17 per cent to $5.3 billion, beef exports were up 16 per cent to $7.1 billion, and pork exports increased 14 per cent to $6.4 billion, according to American Shipper.
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| Brazil's Santos port badly hit by 4-week old customs strike
SOUTH America's largest port, Santos of Brazil, has been hardest hit with containers delayed between five days and a week due to strike action by the nation's Receita Federal (customs), which has intensified as it enters its fourth week.
The strike is also causing severe delays to carriers with containers missing their sailings and racking up detention and demurrage fees, according to the Sao Paulo and Santos Shipagents Association (Sindamar) and other sources in the port city, IHS Media reported.
"All Santos customs officials are on strike and the damage is incalculable," Jose Roque, the executive president for Sindamar said. "We must find a solution to this impasse and sooner rather than later."
Adding to the trouble, officials in the tax analysts section of the Receita Federal have joined the strike and delays are also mounting at key border crossings, particularly along the borders with Argentina and Paraguay.
Mr Roque and Sindamar have been pushing for a resolution to the crisis, sending several letters to the Ministers of Planning and Finance in Brasilia and union leaders over the past week, asking all involved to make concessions "for the sake of the country".
"Loads that are normally cleared in 24 hours accumulate in the terminals waiting for authorisations," said Mr Roque. "If this situation persists, terminals are expected to exhaust their physical capacity for storage shortly and all their spaces will be occupied due to lack of clearance, with ships leaving Santos without all scheduled loads, resulting in loss of revenue from maritime freight."
Coffee and beef shippers are among those most badly affected. with one coffee exporter saying that his company was suffering delays of two or three days after eight days of strike action, but those delays have now grown to between five and seven days.
"October and November are usually the key export months for us, and this year we are suffering a nightmare with these long delays through Santos," the exporter said.
Many transshipment connections in Santos have been broken, spreading the pain well beyond Brazil, Mr Roque said. "The strike is all over Brazil and is also especially severe on our borders."
The National Union of Tax Auditors (Sindifisco) says that the strike at Santos alone costs the government BRL100 million (US$30.6 million) daily and the union estimates that this round of strike action has cost the treasury BRL1.5 billion. However, the government is holding firm, and seems unwilling to grant the customs officers' demands as it works to improve the country's finances. |
