Foreign Agricultural Trade of the U.S., November/December 1983

Exports of farm products fell for the second consecutive year in fiscal year 1983 to $34.8 billion. Values for agricultural imports, especially for competitive items such as live animals, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, beverages, and tobacco, gained by 6 percent to $16.4 billion in fiscal year 1983. Currency exchange rates favoring the U.S. dollar throughout most of 1983 reversed themselves in September after a further decline in interest rates on short-term deposits in overseas banks. U.S. agricultural shipments to Western Europe totaled $10.1 billion during fiscal year 1983, second only to Asia as a regional export market. U.S. agricultural exports as _ a share of farm production, based on cash marketings, fell to 22 percent in fiscal year 1983 from 24 percent the previous year.