Trade Turbulence
and Global Ag Markets
Major players in ag commodity trade identified.
Ag markets are caught in a whirlwind of trade disruptions. Direct market shocks will lead to ripple effects likely to affect most ag markets worldwide in the coming months. It’s important to have a global perspective of major ag markets in order to anticipate how markets may be affected. The following global market profiles are based on current USDA estimates.
Wheat
The European Union (EU) is the largest wheat producer, with 20.0% of total world wheat production, followed by China (17.1%), India (13.0%), Russia (11.2%) and the United States (6.2%). Russia accounts for 22.5% of global wheat exports, ranking ahead of the United States (13.5%), European Union (12.8%), Canada (12.5%) and the Ukraine (9.6%).
The biggest wheat-importing countries are Brazil, the European Union, the United States and China, each accounting for 2%-4% of global wheat imports. Major wheat-importing regions include North Africa (15.1%), Southeast Asia (14.6%) and the Middle East (10.1%).
Corn
The United States is the largest corn producer (35.9%) globally, followed by China (20.9%), Brazil (8.1%), the European Union (6.0%), Argentina (3.2%) and Mexico (2.6%). The United States exports 40.5% of total corn exports, ranking ahead of Brazil (17.3%), Argentina (15.9%) and the Ukraine (13.0%).
The European Union (12.3%) and Mexico (11.1%) are the two largest corn importers, followed by Japan (10.4%), South Korea (6.7%) and Egypt (6.4%).
Soybeans
The United States and Brazil dominate global soybean production, with each producing 35.5% of global production followed by Argentina (11.0%), China (4.2%) and Paraguay (3.0%). Brazil exports 49.0% of total soybean exports, followed by the United States (37.3%), Paraguay (4.1%) and Argentina (2.0%).
China accounts for 62.9% of global soybean imports, followed by the European Union (9.1%), Mexico (3.0%), Argentina (2.4%) and Japan (2.1%).
Meats
China produces nearly half of the world’s pork (48.2%), followed by the European Union (21.2%), United States (10.7%), Brazil (3.2%) and Russia (2.7%). The European Union exports 34.8% of global pork exports, with the United States adding another 32.1%; Canada, 16.2%; Brazil, 7.5%; and China, 2.7%. China is the largest pork importer (19.2%), along with Japan (18.9%), Mexico (15.1%), South Korea (8.1%) and Hong Kong (6.3%).
The United States is the biggest beef producer with 20.0% of global beef production, ranking ahead of Brazil (15.7%), the European Union (12.5%), China (11.6%), India (6.8%), Argentina (4.6%) and Australia (3.6%), with smaller amounts produced in Mexico, Pakistan and Turkey. Brazil is the largest beef exporter at 19.3% of global exports, followed closely by India (18.1%), as well as Australia (15.4%), the United States (13.1%), New Zealand (5.3%) and Canada (4.6%).
Major beef importers include the United States, with 16.6% of total world beef imports; China (14.4%); Japan (10.0%); Hong Kong (7.0%); South Korea (6.7%); and Russia (4.8%).
The United States produces 20.6% of total global broiler meat production. It is followed by Brazil (14.5%), the European Union (13.0%), China (12.7%), India (5.0%) and Russia (4.3%). Brazil is the largest global broiler meat exporter, accounting for 34.4% of the total, ranking ahead of the United States (28.0%), European Union (11.5%), Thailand (7.2%), China (3.9%) and Turkey (3.8%).
The largest broiler-meat importing countries are Japan (12.8%), Mexico (9.1%), the European Union (7.9%), Iraq (7.6%), South Africa (5.9%) and Saudi Arabia (5.0%).
With many changes hitting ag markets simultaneously, it is very difficult to sort out how markets may be affected and for how long. Global market shares may be affected in the short run and possibly the long term, as well.
Editor’s Note: Derrell Peel is a livestock marketing specialist for Oklahoma State University Extension. This article is reprinted with permission from the Aug. 6, 2018, edition of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension newsletter Cow-Calf Corner.