The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its outlook for US agricultural trade for fiscal year 2013, with the country expected to set a new export record.
According to the USDA, projections show that agricultural exports will reach US$140bn for the year, potentially setting a new benchmark.
'Driven by the productivity of US farmers and ranchers, we have achieved five years of positive momentum for agricultural exports and today's forecast is another promising development,' said US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. 'Agricultural exports have a real impact on Main Street and beyond, supporting more than 1m good jobs here at home.
'We're counting on Congress to help keep up this momentum,' he continued. 'With just a few weeks left before expiration of many Farm Bill programmes – including trade promotion programmes that return US$35 in economic benefits for every dollar invested – producers and rural communities need passage of a comprehensive Food, Farm and Jobs Bill as soon as possible. This would enable USDA to continue trade promotion, and carry out a wide variety of additional efforts to support a productive US agriculture sector.'
Vilsack pointed out that the country's farmers and ranchers needed a reliable and stable agricultural workforce to keep up production, making passage of the commonsense immigration reform measure key to strengthening American agriculture and maintaining strong exports in coming years.
'At USDA we intend to build on the record agricultural trade already achieved in the Obama Administration,' he added. 'We will continue breaking down barriers to US products and working toward new agreements to expand exports, including a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union and a Trans-Pacific Partnership with Asian nations.'
