Brief: Farm Aid Package Would Offset Low Crop Prices
The $7.4-billion farm aid package passed by the U.S. Senate
on August 4, 1999, was a response to this year’s low field
crop prices. The House of Representatives is expected to
consider a similar measure, and the legislation could raise
1999 total net farm income well above last year’s level.
Drought relief is not part of the current Senate legislation,
despite extremely dry weather in parts of the country. The
drought’s impact on commodity receipts in 14 affected states
is estimated at $975 million, while the combination of shrinking
receipts and higher expenses could be as much as $1.1 billion.
For more information, contact: Mitchell
Morehart.
Farm
Aid Package Would Offset Low Crop Prices
Soybean Prices Plummet to Lowest in 27 Years
Farm prices for U.S. soybeans are expected to plummet to their
lowest level since the 1972/73 marketing-year average as farmers
confront the third consecutive year of record soybean crops.
Compounding the impact of a bumper crop is the uncommon concurrence
of weak prices and weak exports in 1998/99, nearly doubling
U.S. ending stocks from a year earlier. Until world demand
can work down large global stocks of soybeans and soybean
products, U.S. producers will rely on government marketing
assistance loan benefits to support their incomes. For more
information, contact: Mark
Ash.
Soybean
Prices Plummet to Lowest in 27 Years
NAFTA: The Record to Date
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has generally
contributed to the expansion of U.S. agricultural trade with
Canada and Mexico. Agricultural exports to these two countries
have risen from an annual average of $7.4 billion during 1989-93
to $11.3 billion during 1994-98. Agricultural imports from
Canada and Mexico have also increased--climbing from an average
$6.2 billion during 1989-93 to $10.5 billion during 1994-98.
More general gains from the agreement include reorientation
of trade in which regional, cross-border exchanges may replace
less economical within-country exchanges. For more information,
contact: Steven Zahniser.
NAFTA:
The Record to Date
U.S.-Mexico Sweetener Trade Mired in Dispute
Disagreement persists among the Mexican and U.S. sugar industries
and the U.S. high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) industry over
interpretation of the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). While trade in sweeteners between Mexico and the
U.S. was addressed directly by provisions of NAFTA, pressure
on trade agreements has increased as these industries have
grown, leaving the future of U.S.-Mexico sweetener trade uncertain.
For more information, contact: Stephen
Haley.
U.S.-Mexico
Sweetener Trade Mired in Dispute
Cargill's Acquisition on Continental Grain: Anatomy
of a Merger
An agreement in October 1998 to combine two of the nation’s
largest grain trading businesses appeared to many observers
to illustrate a disturbing trend: increasing concentration
in agribusiness leading to fewer marketing choices and lower
prices for farmers. The Department of Justice, which decided
a review of the merger was warranted, concluded after an
investigation that the merger could proceed under certain
conditions. A review of the economic issues helps explain
the outcome of the case. For more information, contact:
James MacDonald.
Cargill's
Acquisition on Continental Grain: Anatomy of a Merger
Mexico's Pork Industry Structure Shifting to Large Operations
in the 1990's
Rapidly changing swine production technology, intensified
disease control measures, increased foreign trade activity,
and economic and policy shocks over the past quarter of a
century have combined to produce marked change in the Mexican
pork industry. A joint study by USDA’s Economic Research Service
and Mexico’s agriculture ministry examines developments in
hog farm structure, slaughter infrastructure, vertical integration,
and market efficiency, and their implications for the future
of the industry in Mexico. For more information, contact:
Leland Southard.
Mexico's
Pork Industry Structure Shifting to Large Operations in the
1990's |
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