The value of US agricultural exports is expected to reach US$104.5bn this fiscal year, the second-highest total ever, with horticultural exports of US$22.5bn, according to the latest data from the USDA.
'The USDA has been working aggressively to improve opportunities for U.S. agricultural exports,' US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
'Efforts to increase trade are an important part of the administration's effort to strengthen our economy here at home.'
The estimated worth of fresh fruit and vegetable exports for the US fiscal year, concluding 30 September, is up to US$5.9bn and for the first half of the 2010 fiscal year, exports were up 7.3 per cent to US$2.79bn.
US imports of fresh fruit for fiscal 2010 were put at US$6.6bn, up from US$6.07bn in 2009, while fresh vegetable imports were estimated at US$5.1bn, well up on the US$4.23bn for last year.
Although the country will boast a surplus across all agricultural products, exporting US$104.5bn worth while only importing US$76.5bn, in fresh fruits and vegetables there is a trade deficit, with exports pegged at US$5.9bn but imports at US$11.7bn.
According to the USDA's 27 May report, Asia will overtake the Western Hemisphere as the largest regional market for US exports, and 'emerging Asia will lead the world economic turnaround'.
US agricultural exports to China are expected to total US$14bn in 2010, well up on the US$11.2bn in 2009.
China has emerged well from the global financial crisis which wreaked havoc in the US and Europe for the past two years and its economy is expected to grow by around 10 per cent this year, much higher than the one per cent predicted for European nations.
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