Re: PING! Michael

On 11/27/2024 3:35 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:

On 2024-11-27, Carol <cshenk@virginia-beach.com> wrote:

>
Sure Ed but we aren't more than hobby growers, doing it for fun.  We
export far more food than we import.  Fresh fruits out of season
probably tops the list of them.

 Why don't you just do a fucking google?
 U.S. food imports:  $194 billion
U.S. food exports:  $174 billion

No citation, so...context time again:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/u-s-food-imports/
U.S. food import volume, by food group, percent change from last year
         Live meat animals 2/ percent 2.5 7.5
Meats percent 4.7 -2.7
Fish and shellfish 3/ percent 1.8 -8.6
Dairy percent 4.5 3.9
Vegetables percent 4.5 1.0
Fruits 4/ percent 2.5 0.4
Nuts percent 2.2 -6.0
Coffee, tea, and spices percent 0.3 -11.8
Grains percent 0.7 9.6
Vegetable oils percent 2.9 9.9
Sugar and candy percent 1.9 -2.6
Cocoa and chocolate percent 0.4 -11.5
Other edible products 5/ percent 6.9 4.2
Beverages 6/ percent 4.2 -2.6

How a few of us became people who *fuck around in the backyard* just
because we have a hobby of growing some produce excapes me.  That was a
hell of a thread twist.

 Because you stated that amateurs in their gardens could make a
meaningful dent in our food imports.  It was in connection with
tariffs.
 

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/agricultural-trade/
The leading U.S. agricultural exports are grains and feeds, soybeans, livestock products, tree nuts, fruits, vegetables, and other horticultural products. The leading U.S. imports are horticultural and tropical products.
The United States typically exports more agricultural goods by value than it imports, but the value of imports has grown more rapidly than exports over the past decade, contributing to a negative trade balance in some years. From fiscal years 2013 to 2023, U.S. agricultural exports expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 2.1 percent. During that same time, U.S. agricultural imports increased by 5.8 percent.
//The robust increase in U.S. demand for imports has been largely driven by the strong U.S. dollar and consumer preferences for year-round produce selections.//
The resulting agricultural trade balance was negative in 3 of the past 10 fiscal years.
U.S. agricultural export values peaked in fiscal year 2022 before declining in 2023
The value of U.S. agricultural exports, not adjusting for inflation, peaked in fiscal year 2022 before declining in 2023. Total exports were valued at $178.7 billion in 2023, a $17 billion decrease from 2022. Four categories typically accounted for about 90 percent of total agricultural exports. These categories include grains and feeds; oilseeds and products; animals (e.g. livestock and poultry), meats, and products; and horticultural products. Although the decrease in export value in 2023 came from a wide breadth of commodities, grains and animal exports were the source of much of the reduction—particularly from lower export values of corn, wheat, sorghum, and beef.
//Global commodity prices receding from the highs of 2022, were one of the main drivers of the broad decrease in export values.//
So strong dollar no workee well for export balance, so sad...all bad...