U.S. AGRICULTURAL TRADE UPDATE                                  May 22, 1998
May 1998, FAU-17
            Approved by the World Agricultural Outlook Board
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U.S. AGRICULTURAL TRADE UPDATE is published monthly by the Economic Research
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Summary-- Through March, fiscal 1998 U.S. agricultural exports
were $30.5 billion, down 2 percent from fiscal 1997.  Imports for
October-March were $18.9 billion, a 7-percent gain from a year
ago.  March's $4.7 billion in exports were nearly the same as
February 1998, but were 5 percent lower than March 1997.  March
imports were up 6 percent from a year ago.  The export surplus
for fiscal 1998 stands at $11.6  billion, down 14 percent from
1997.

Exports--Bulk exports fell 10 percent year-to-year to $11.6
billion for the first 6 months of 1998. U.S. corn exports in
March were 3.3 million tons, up 9 percent from a month earlier. 
Year-to-date exports of corn were 18.9 million tons, down 8.3
million from a year ago.  Exports to South Korea were down
significantly from 3.7 million tons in 1997 to 878,000 tons in
fiscal 1998.  Corn export value for cumulative fiscal 1998 were
$2.3 billion, down from 3.7 billion a year earlier.  

Wheat exports for fiscal 1998 remained ahead of last year at
nearly 13 million tons, a 21-percent increase over the same
period in fiscal 1997.   Year-to-date wheat shipments to Egypt
were up 1.5 million tons from 1997.  March 1998 wheat sales were
down 8 percent from Februray 1998.

Soybean exports reached 18.6 million tons in the first 6 months
of fiscal 1998,  a 1- million ton increase from the same period
in 1997.  The value of soybean exports reached nearly $5 billion,
nearly the same as a year earlier.  The European Union remains by
far the largest customer, taking 6.7 million tons in fiscal 1998. 
For the month of March soybean exports were 1.5 million tons,
down from 2.6 million a month earlier. 

Cotton exports in fiscal 1998 remain 4 percent higher than the
previous year at 904,000 tons.  Mexico is now the leading
importer of U.S. cotton, with purchases of 135,000  tons. 

Tobacco exports for fiscal 1998 have fallen 21 percent from a year
ago, from 141 thousand tons to 112,000 tons.  The value of
tobacco sales fell 15 percent from a year ago.

Among high-value product (HVP) exports, vegetable oil exports for
the first six months in fiscal 1998 were up 41 percent from a
year ago, reaching $1.2 billion.  Cumulative fiscal beef and veal
exports were up 10 percent,  reaching $1.2 billion. Current
year-to-date vegetable exports reached $2.1 billion, up 4 percent from
a year ago.    

Imports--Strong growth in imports of beverages continued during
the first half of fiscal 1998. Wine imports increased 20 percent
in fiscal 1998 to reach $953 million.  Beer imports reached 706
million, up 16 percent from a year ago. Coffee imports were up 28
percent as import prices climbed.  However,  imported coffee
volume was down 4 percent.
(Mark Gehlhar 202-694-5273)


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Growth in Leading Vegetable Oil Markets-- Fiscal year-to-date
vegetable oil exports increased by 41 percent. China was the
largest buyer importing $209 million in the first 6 months of
1998, up from $147 million in 1997.  The largest increase was in
sales to Hong Kong which increased 231 percent over the previous
year.  The European Union increased imports of U.S. vegetable
oils by 110 percent,  reaching $100 million for the year-to-date
total.  Japan's imports of vegetable oils declined 12 percent.   
End Box

Next Update: June  23, 1998


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