Market News & Headlines >> U.S. Monthly Ag Exports Recover

U.S. agricultural exports for October hit an 11-month high in value at roughly $12.1 billion, 17.3% above September’s $10.3 billion, but were still about 0.9% below a year earlier, according to the latest international trade data released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday.   

The value of U.S. agricultural exports for calendar 2019 to date through October was roughly $112.1 million, down 3.6% from about $116.3 million a year earlier. 

Sharp monthly increases in the value of U.S. export shipments of soybeans and tree nuts were primarily responsible for the overall month-to-month jump in export value. October soybean exports were up 56% or $767 million in value over a month earlier, while nut exports were up 69% or $468 million, according to a summary of Census Bureau data from USDA’s Economic Research Service. 

Export shipments of vegetable oils and live animals were also up 52% and 105% respectively in October versus September. The value of October U.S. rice exports was up roughly 21% versus a month earlier, while corn export value was up 11%. 

For the January-October period, however, the value of U.S. corn exports suffered the largest drop of any agricultural commodity, falling 38% to $6.7 billion.