USDA says farm exports to drop

First, farm income projections took a dip. Now, it’s farm exports.

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) are predicting 2016 agricultural exports at $138.5 billion, down $1 billion from the revised $139.5 billion forecast for fiscal 2015.

According to the report issued Aug. 27, the decline is primarily due to lower than expected soybean and soybean meal prices and reduced export volumes.

Highlights for the forecast for 2016 include:
? • Soybean and soybean meal prices, down $4.4 billion
? • Grain and feed exports, up $1.1 billion, due to higher than expected wheat shipments
? • Cotton exports, down $400 million due to a smaller U.S. crop
? • Exports of livestock, poultry and dairy products, up $600 million as higher export volumes in the number of livestock products offsets a decline in prices.

U.S. agricultural imports for 2016 are forecast at a record $122.5 billion, $7 billion higher than fiscal 2015. The U.S. agricultural trade surplus is expected to fall by $8 billion in fiscal 2016 to $16 billion—the smallest surplus since 2007.