ERS Charts of Note
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Wednesday, July 24, 2024
The United States has been the leading raw cotton exporter to the world virtually every year for more than 100 years. Leading export nation status was relinquished by the United States just a few times over the last century, most recently to Uzbekistan in the 1992/93 marketing year (August–July). U.S.-grown cotton was once principally used in domestic mills, but raw cotton exports became the dominant use in the early 2000s. Mills in other countries—particularly China—expanded textile and apparel product exports following developed countries’ phaseout of import quotas. Most U.S.-grown cotton is now destined for foreign mills and subject to increased competition from other cotton-producing countries. In recent years, Brazil has gradually become a major cotton export competitor, particularly as domestic cotton production expanded to the Center-West region of the country. On favorable conditions, Brazil’s 2023/24 cotton crop is estimated at a record 14.6 million bales, while U.S. production decreased because of drought in the Southwest. USDA’s June 2024 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report forecast Brazil’s 2023/24 cotton exports at 12.4 million bales, surpassing U.S. exports to become the largest global exporter. For 2024/25, the United States is projected to reclaim the role as top cotton exporter, as U.S. production is projected to rebound. This chart is drawn from the USDA, Economic Research Service Cotton and Wool Outlook: June 2024.
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
The United States and Brazil compete to satisfy the global demand for soybeans. Soybean exports contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy each year even as Brazil's exports have gradually eroded the U.S. share of the global soybean market. Researchers with USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) compared factors affecting the two countries’ competitiveness, including costs of both production and marketing. They determined that, on average, production costs per acre for soybeans in Brazil were 22.5 percent lower than U.S. costs from 2010/11–2021/22. Lower capital and land costs accounted for most of this difference. Brazil’s farmers largely hire out services to provide equipment and labor for field operations, whereas U.S. farmers tend to own their machinery. Land costs were also higher in the United States, where one crop is typically harvested per marketing year. Brazil’s abundant land resources and its capacity to grow two crops per year increase both the output and revenue generated per unit of land. On aggregate, U.S. costs to produce an acre of soybeans increased 2.6 percent annually from 2010/11–2021/22, while Brazil’s costs increased 0.5 percent, not adjusting for inflation. Factors driving the increase in U.S. costs per acre were higher fertilizer, pesticide, machinery, repair, and land costs. In Brazil, rising fertilizer and pesticide costs represented the bulk of the increase. In both countries, transportation of soybeans to ports adds to the cost of soybeans paid by overseas buyers. However, Brazil’s investments in overland transportation infrastructure have reduced the relative marketing cost for exporting soybeans. Average inland transport costs per metric ton in 2017/18–2021/22 in Brazil decreased by 21.4 percent compared with 2008/09–2012/13. More information can be found in the ERS report Soybean Production, Marketing Costs, and Export Competitiveness in Brazil and the United States, December 2023.