U.S. farm exports will jump to a record $137 billion in the year ending Sept. 30 as companies that include Bunge Ltd. and Archer Daniels Midland Co. expand shipping capacity to meet rising demand.
The total would be 26 percent higher than last year’s $108.7 billion and more than the previous record of $114.9 billion in 2008, the U.S. Agriculture Department said Thursday in a quarterly report. A February forecast was for $135.5 billion. Imports are projected to rise to $93 billion, also an all-time high and 5.7 percent above the USDA’s earlier prediction.
Overseas shipments of agricultural products totaled $75 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year, according to the USDA.
U.S. farm exports have been rising, especially to Asia, as world food prices reached records this year, contributing to unrest in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
