US Ag Imports Continue Strong

The value of U.S. agricultural exports surged to $12.86 billion in March, up nearly 14% from the $11.31 billion mark in February. Exports of U.S. soybeans helped to push value higher.Agricultural imports, however, also rose to $11.69 billion, up nearly 12% from the $10.46 billion level in February. The result was a trade surplus of $1.17 billion after the trade black ink had been below $1 billion the prior two months.U.S. agricultural exports stand at a cumulative $74.84 billion for the first six months of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, down less than 4% from level seen at this point in FY 2017. US agricultural imports, however, are continuing to climb, totaling $63.93 billion so far this fiscal year, up nearly 8% from the year-ago level of $59.2 billion.That translates to a cumulative trade surplus of $10.91 billion, down more than 40% from the trade surplus at this stage in FY 2017.Not only did U.S. ag imports hit their highest mark of FY 2018 in March, they also registered a new monthly record based on USDA data back to FY 1976. They have been at $10.1 billion or more every month so far in FY 2018, also a record run. U.S. ag imports only topped $10 billion four months during FY 2017 and were only able to string together three months in a row over the March-May period atop that plateau.