Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United Staes, January/February 1983

The worldwide recession and lower prices during calendar year 1982 depressed U.S. agricultural exports 15 percent below their year-earlier value to $36.6 billion. Depressed demand and lower prices for many farm products reduced U.s. agricultural imports to $15.2 billion in calendar year 1982, 9 percent less than a year earlier. An internationally strong dollar curtailed demand for many U.S. commodities in 1982, but recent exchange rate reversals can be expected to continue into 1983 and provide some strength for exports. U.S. agricultural exports under Government-financed programs totaled nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 1982, about one-fourth less than the previous year