Largest Food Exports By Country

The United States is the largest exporter of food products worldwide, sending massive amounts of plant and animal products around the world.

The United States is the sixth richest country in the world as of 2014, a fact which does not surprise anyone considering that it is also the top exporter of food. Among the top export destinations of the United States are Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and Germany.

A significant share of the total production of numerous vital commodities is absorbed by the US agriculture export markets. In the last two decades, the country has experienced periods of total decline as well as periods of rapid development precipitated by a shift in both the variety of US agricultural products being exported as well as the ports of call for these products.

US Total Gross Domestic Product

As per data obtained from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook Database, the US total Gross Domestic Product went up to $17.42 trillion in 2014. This means that export is responsible for around 9.3 percent of America’s economic output. With the United State’s population of roughly 321.4 million people and $1.62 trillion exports in 2014, this translates to around $5040 for every person living in the America. This is despite their unemployment rate of 6.2% reported in the same year.

The Fastest Growing US Exports

Dairy, eggs and honey rank third in the United States list of rapidly growing exports in 2014 with a marked increase amounting to 91.4% and a value of $6.2 billion. Second on the list is oil which increased by 94.2%, garnering a value of $157.2 billion while fur skin and artificial fur went up by 101.7% at a $583 billion value.

Other key export products of the United States in 2014 are railway and tram equipment, alcoholic beverages, zinc, aircraft and spacecraft, collector items, arts and antiques. Remarkably, organic chemicals is the slowest growing category in the list which increased only by a modest percentage of 3.5%.

Top US Exports Worldwide

While the United States is recognized as the topmost food exporter of the world in 2014, food products are nowhere near the top 10 most exported products of said country. Machines, engines and pumps makes up 13.5% of their exports with a value of $219.6 billion followed by electronic equipment at 10.6% and a value of $172 billion. Oil, the country’s fastest growing export product is also third in the list of top US exports at 9.7% share and $157.2 value.

The Top US Food Exports

There are two main categories dividing exports of food products in the United States namely animal products and plant products. Fish/seafood, animal fat, poultry meat and eggs, red meats and dairy products are considered animal products while vegetable oils, food grains, nuts, wine, coffee, spices, cocoa, sweeteners, fruits and beer comprise the plant product category.

The United States Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration provides the trade database where the dollar valuation of food exports is based on. On the other hand, food categories are identified according to the code provided by the North American Industry Classification System or NAICS.