The largest importers of American agricultural products
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. agricultural and related exports totaled $ 162 billion in 2020, the third highest total on record. The major agricultural export partners of the United States have moved over the years from Western Europe and Russia to South and East Asia, Latin America and North Africa . A growing world population and an expanding middle class in developing countries suggest that American agriculture will remain in high demand in the future.
Total exports of agricultural and related products from the United States peaked in 2014 at more than $ 170 billion. The following year, the value fell 12% due to a significant appreciation of the US dollar; agricultural exports have remained fairly constant thereafter. Tariffs imposed under the Trump administration resulted in tariff retaliation from major trading partners, which impacted U.S. agricultural exports to those countries, particularly to China. However, the impact on total agricultural exports was minimal, in part due to increased exports to other countries that did not retaliate.
Since 1980, consumer goods have made up a growing share of US agricultural exports. Consumer-oriented agricultural products are higher-value goods for direct consumption by consumers and include things like meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables. This trend is partly due to changing consumer preferences resulting from rising incomes globally. Many developing countries, including China, Mexico and Indonesia, are important trading partners of the United States, and rising household incomes in these countries have resulted in increased demand for more products. great value such as meat, dairy and fresh produce. Bulk goods make up the second largest share of U.S. agricultural exports and include products like grains, oilseeds, and cotton.
While the United States and Europe have historically been the largest importers and exporters of agricultural products in the world, emerging economies are becoming increasingly important to world trade. On a regional basis, East Asia, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, is the largest importer of U.S. agricultural products, accounting for 34% of all U.S. agricultural exports in 2020. Southeast Asia, which includes Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia — is now the third-largest importer of American agricultural products, behind North America and ahead of the European Union. For context, Southeast Asia ranked seventh in 1990.
To find the largest importers of U.S. agricultural products, researchers at Commodity.com analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The researchers ranked countries based on the total value of U.S. agricultural products that each country imports. The researchers also calculated each country’s value as a share of total U.S. agricultural exports, the major U.S. agricultural product exported to each country, and other detailed statistics.
Here are the largest importers of American agricultural products.
Country |
Rank |
Total value of U.S. agricultural exports to the country |
Country value as a percentage of total U.S. agricultural exports |
Main American agricultural products exported to the country |
Total Bulk Value |
Intermediate total value |
Total consumer value |
Total value related to agriculture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 1 | $ 28,750 288,000 | 17.7% | Soy | $ 19,132,864,000 | $ 1,872,701,000 | $ 5,393,904,000 | $ 2,350,819,000 |
| Canada | 2 | $ 25,414,534,000 | 15.7% | Bakery products, cereals and pasta | $ 1,023,675,000 | $ 4,160,305,000 | $ 17,093,000,000 | $ 3,137,555,000 |
| Mexico | 3 | $ 18,962,080,000 | 11.7% | But | $ 6,132,761,000 | $ 3,914,580,000 | $ 8,288,950,000 | $ 625,787,000 |
| Japan | 4 | $ 12,887,108,000 | 8.0% | Beef & Beef Products | $ 3,966,270,000 | $ 1,377,563,000 | $ 6,371,574,000 | $ 1,171,700,000 |
| South Korea | 5 | $ 8,241,801,000 | 5.1% | Beef & Beef Products | $ 1,604,410,000 | $ 1,560,234,000 | $ 4,541,906,000 | $ 535,251,000 |
| Vietnam | 6 | $ 3,744,450,000 | 2.3% | Cotton | $ 1,790,124,000 | $ 643,589,000 | $ 928,273,000 | $ 382,465,000 |
| Netherlands | seven | $ 3,741,523,000 | 2.3% | Soy | $ 1,158,135,000 | $ 965,926,000 | $ 1,221,265,000 | $ 396,197,000 |
| Taiwan | 8 | $ 3,349,146,000 | 2.1% | Soy | $ 1,194,534,000 | $ 350,236,000 | $ 1,729,362,000 | $ 75,015,000 |
| Philippines | 9 | $ 3,230,646,000 | 2.0% | Soybean dish | $ 919,558,000 | $ 1,182,673,000 | $ 1,107,535,000 | $ 20,881,000 |
| Indonesia | ten | $ 2,897,691,000 | 1.8% | Soy | $ 1,486,644,000 | $ 682,172,000 | $ 654,523,000 | $ 74,352,000 |
| Colombia | 11 | $ 2,881,065,000 | 1.8% | But | $ 1,305,913,000 | $ 923,885,000 | $ 632,865,000 | $ 18,402,000 |
| UK | 12 | $ 2,740,498,000 | 1.7% | Forest products | $ 119,602,000 | $ 506,820,000 | $ 1,100,002,000 | $ 1,014,074,000 |
| Hong Kong | 13 | $ 2,182,661,000 | 1.3% | Beef & Beef Products | $ 31,654,000 | $ 89,541,000 | $ 1,911,321,000 | $ 150,145,000 |
| Egypt | 14 | $ 1,920,256,000 | 1.2% | Soy | $ 1,509,877,000 | $ 180,781,000 | $ 204,093,000 | $ 25,506,000 |
| Thailand | 15 | $ 1,900,352,000 | 1.2% | Soy | $ 868,546,000 | $ 508,351,000 | $ 398,499,000 | $ 124,957,000 |
For more information, a detailed methodology, and full results, you can find the original report on the Commodity.com website: https://commodity.com/blog/us-
