High-value products make up a growing share of U.S. agricultural exports

The product composition of U.S. agricultural exports has shifted over the last 35 years, reflecting changes in global supply and demand. Notably, agricultural exports of high-value products (such as meats, food preparations and dairy) showed strong growth, driven by increasing population and income worldwide, as well as a growing diversification of diets. In 2025, high-value product exports grew to $121 billion, or 71 percent of total U.S. agricultural export value, up from 56 percent in 1990. Approximately 60 percent of these high-value product exports were processed goods (with the largest including meat, food preparations, milk, baked goods and beverages). These processed exports were the fastest growing group, increasing by an average of 4.7 percent per year between 2001 and 2025. Semi-processed goods (such as prepared feeds, and soybean meal) have maintained a relatively stable share of total exports since 1990, at 13 percent in 2025. The share of high-value raw exports has been expanding since 1990 (largely driven by increased exports of tree nuts, especially almonds and pistachios). In contrast to high-value products, the share of exports of bulk goods (such as grains and oilseeds) has gradually declined over the last 35 years to 29 percent, or $50 billion in 2025.