The United States experienced a rising trade surplus in animal feed products from 1994 to 1998, fueled by increased exports of oilseed meals and pet food, says the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in its report Industry and Trade Summary: Animal Feeds.

The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding agency, recently released the report as part of an ongoing series of reports on thousands of products imported into and exported from the United States. Following are highlights from the report:

• Animal feed products include ingredients, derived from the processing of grains, vegetables, oilseeds, meat, and fish products; roughages, such as hay and grasses; compound feeds, which combine ingredient feeds; and pet foods. U.S. producers of animal feed products are competitive in foreign markets in certain types of animal feed products, particularly pet foods, soybean meal, and corn gluten. Commercial producers of compound animal feeds in the U.S. typically produce for the local market. Most animal feed products have low levels of import penetration.

• U.S. production of primary animal feeds, including complete feeds, supplements, and premixes, rose by 4 percent during 1994-98, the period covered by the report. Production of protein meal ingredients, such as soybean meal, rose by 21 percent during this period. In the compound animal feed industry, there has been a trend toward vertically integrated mills, with livestock producers owning feed mills and producing animal feed for their own operations.

• The United States ran a significant trade surplus in animal feed products with foreign trade partners in 1998, totaling $3.6 billion. Major export markets include the European Union, Japan, Canada, China, and Mexico. Almost two-thirds of U.S. animal feed imports comes from Canada and consists of pet food, compound feeds, and canola meal. Exports and imports of animal feed each increased by 24 percent during 1994-98. U.S. tariffs on animal feed products are low, with almost 57 percent of U.S. imports entering duty-free.

• The United States is the largest producer of compound animal feed in the world. Other major producers include the European Union, China, Brazil, and Japan. The animal feed industry has been growing rapidly in China and Brazil. Foreign tariffs are generally low, though high tariffs exist for products that contain ingredients that have government supports, such as milk or starch.

• Purchasers of animal feed products include commercial feedlots, specialty stores, households, and bakers and millers. On-farm mixing of ingredient feeds has become increasingly common. Pet food consumers are increasingly purchasing premium and superpremium brands.

The foregoing information is from the ITC report Industry and Trade Summary: Animal Feeds (USITC Publication 3275, January 2000).

ITC Industry and Trade Summary reports include information on product uses, U.S. and foreign producers, and customs treatment of the products being studied; they analyze the basic factors affecting trends in consumption, production, and trade of the commodities, as well as factors bearing on the competitiveness of the U.S. industry in domestic and foreign markets.

This report will be available on the ITC Internet web site at www.usitc.gov. A printed copy may be ordered without charge by calling (202) 205-1809, or by writing the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may be faxed to (202) 205-2104.