Overview
Global agricultural trade, valued at about $1 trillion in 2016, has been rising about 3.6 percent per year since 1995, facilitated by technological change and productivity gains, as well as by trade liberalization and income growth. In addition, global trade patterns have shifted in favor of emerging economies. Although the United States and the European Union remained the largest exporters and importers of agricultural products, five countries—Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Russia —have emerged as important traders in the global agricultural market, and, in some cases, as key trading partners to the U.S.
ERS economists conduct research and analysis on the economies, agricultural sectors, and policies of U.S. key trading partners. ERS also assesses environmental, food safety, and food security challenges confronting countries and regions in an increasingly global agricultural market, as well as the economic opportunities the market provides.
Country-specific reports, information, and data are available on Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea.
ERS’s Outputs on International Trade and Policies
ERS data products relating to international trade include:
- Agricultural Exchange Rate Data Set The dataset contains annual and monthly data on exchange rates important to U.S. agriculture. It includes both nominal and real exchange rates for 80 countries (plus the European Union), as well as real trade-weighted exchange rate indexes for many commodities and aggregations.
- International Macroeconomic Dataset The dataset provides data from 1969 through 2020 for real (adjusted for inflation) gross domestic product (GDP), population, real exchange rates, and other variables for the 190 countries and 34 regions that are most important for U.S. agricultural trade.
- International Baseline Dataset The data provide projections on supply, demand, and trade for major agricultural commodities for selected countries.These projections give details on various countries supporting USDA’s 10-year agricultural baseline projections.
Recent reports on international trade include:
- The Global Landscape of Agricultural Trade, 1995-2014 This report surveys 20 years (1995-2014) of trends in world agricultural trade and summarizes key policy issues that will confront decision makers and shape agricultural trade in the coming years.
- Developments in Iran’s Agriculture Sector and Prospects for U.S. Trade The report provides an overview of Iran's agricultural sector and factors driving its food demand, along with the country's impact on global commodity markets, including in which the United States competes.
- Middle East and North Africa Region: An Important Driver of World Agricultural Trade Growing populations and incomes in the Middle East and North Africa region are increasing food and feed demand that domestic production alone cannot meet. Opportunities will expand for U.S. exports—along with stiffer world competition.
- Establishing more normal economic relations with Cuba could potentially generate growth in U.S.-Cuba trade, foster greater productivity in Cuba's economy, and stimulate exports of meat, dairy products, rice, and other commodities to Cuba.
- Alternative Policies to Agricultural Export Taxes That Are Less Market Distorting ERS examines effects of alternative policies to conventional export taxes on countries' domestic and trade markets for agricultural products—policies that are both less market distorting and less welfare diminishing.
