China is now the top export market for U.S. agricultural products and is expected to continue growing. .
China has entered a period of transition that has slowed imports of some commodities and increased imports of others..
Future U.S. agricultural exports to China will be influenced by changes in consumption patterns, farm policies, and enforcement of import standards and regulations..
U.S. agricultural exports to China doubled from 2008 to 2012, growing to more than $25 billion in annual sales. China surpassed Japan, Mexico, and Canada to become the top export market for U.S. farm products. The share of U.S. agricultural exports destined for China rose from about 2-3 percent in the 1990s to 16-18 percent during 2012-14.
As a land-abundant country with highly productive farms, the United States is a natural trading partner for China, a country with limited per-capita supplies of cropland and water resources. A number of land-abundant countries export agricultural products to China, but the United States is the top supplier of China’s growing menu of agricultural imports, with a 24-percent share during 2012-13. The United States is China’s top supplier of imported soybeans, cotton, meat, cereal grains, cattle hides, distillers dried grains, and hay.
