The US led the world in agricultural exports in 2021, sending $177 billion worth of agricultural products abroad. The US exports just over 20% of what it produces, far outpacing the amount of exports of the world’s top agricultural producers China and India, whose agricultural goods are focused more on addressing domestic needs.
While farm products don’t tend to make headlines, it’s important to the US economy and the global food supply chain in some key ways.
Agricultural exports supported 1.1 million full-time jobs in the US in 2020, 439,000 of which were in the farm sector. Non-farm agricultural jobs include those in processing and agricultural manufacturing.
