Ag Trade Deficit Hit Another Record High in July

By Ryan Hanrahan

Bloomberg’s Gerson Freitas Jr reported that “the US agricultural trade deficit widened further in July, highlighting the challenge facing President Donald Trump as he vows to reverse the trend.”

“Agricultural exports lagged imports by $4.97 billion in July, a gap 9% wider than a year earlier and the largest on record for the month,” Freitas Jr reported. “That pushed the sector’s deficit to an unprecedented $33.6 billion for the first seven months of the year, according to data released Monday by the US Department of Agriculture.”

“The widening farm trade gap this year has been mostly driven by a jump in imports, just as Trump slapped tariffs on other countries in a push to shrink the overall deficit,” Freitas Jr reported. “That further cements a shift that has been building since the president’s first term, with a sector that has long run major trade surpluses becoming a consistent net importer.”

“The change in fortunes comes as a result of limited capacity to expand crop and livestock production, increased competition overseas and Americans’ growing appetite for imported goods,” Freitas Jr reported. “Trump’s trade wars have also played a role, pushing China — the world’s largest crop importer — to rely more heavily on Brazil for its supplies. The US is also processing more of its crops domestically to produce biofuel, reducing exportable surpluses.”