Patricia Batres-Marquez, Decision Innovation Solutions (DIS). DIS is an Iowa-based economic research firm which provides regular farm economic research and analysis to Iowa Farm Bureau staff and members.  

Supported by economic growth, increasing household income, constrained farmland area, and a diversified diet that includes more animal protein, dairy products, and other consumer oriented products, China agricultural imports expanded since the beginning of the last decade.

U.S. exports of agricultural products to China were up 5.7% to $21.4 billion in 2016 compared with the previous year. The value of agricultural exports to China was up from the value of agricultural exports to Canada ($20.5 billion) and Mexico ($17.9 billion) (see Figure 1), making China the top value market for U.S. agricultural products in 2016.  Overall, the value of 2016 U.S. agricultural exports to China was 15.8% of 2016 U.S. total agricultural exports. The value of agricultural exports to Canada, Mexico, the European Union (EU), and Japan represented 15.1%, 13.2%, 8.6%, and 8.2%, respectively, of U.S. total agricultural exports in 2016.

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