Food

Countries vary in how much their citizens spend on food at home as a share of consumption expenditure. Consumption expenditure includes all household spending, but not savings. High-income countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, have higher food spending in absolute terms, but t

Brazil’s beef exports to the United States have grown rapidly since the easing of U.S. restrictions on imports of fresh beef from Brazil in 2020. In addition, Brazil’s beef exports have shifted in seasonality toward a trend of late-year shipments caused by a tariff-rate quota that resets on January

Inflation-adjusted U.S. net cash farm income (NCFI), defined as gross cash income less cash expenses, is forecast to increase $4.0 billion (3.6 percent) to $115.2 billion in 2020. U.S. net farm income (NFI)—a broader measure of farm sector profitability that incorporates noncash items including chan

Consumers can buy fluid milk in a variety of forms and at a variety of prices. A recent ERS report looked at purchases of milk products that contained three different fat contents, came in two container sizes, and were produced by either conventional or organic methods. In 2007-08, conventionally pr

Forecasts for U.S. pork exports for 2019 and 2020 were recently raised, due in large part to expectations of continued significant growth in Chinese demand for U.S. pork. China’s demand for imported pork has accelerated as African Swine Fever (ASF) spread throughout China during 2018-19.

In China, rice stocks (unused rice kept in storage) are projected to reach a record 113 million tons at the end of the 2018/19 marketing year this June, the 12th consecutive year of increasing stocks. Currently, China is estimated to hold about 70 percent of the world’s stocks of rice. Chinese polic

Americans consumed an average of 115.4 pounds of fresh and processed fruit per person in 2015, according to ERS’s loss-adjusted food availability data. This data series takes per capita supplies of food available for human consumption and adjusts for some of the spoilage, plate waste, and other loss

Rising farm wages and recent reports from farmers point to a tightening farm labor market in the United States. Another sign of labor scarcity has been the increased use of the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program, which provides a mechanism for growers to bring in nonimmigrant foreign workers on a t

Contracts are widely used in the production and sale of U.S agricultural commodities. Farmers use contracts to obtain compensation for higher product quality, specify outlets for products, and provide assurance of sales to manage income risk or finance debt. Processors use contracts to gain timely f

Native grasses, including switchgrass, have extensive root networks that reach deep into the soil—increasing water filtration, nutrient holding capacity, and erosion control. Switchgrass also offers a potential renewable source for liquid fuels or bioelectricity, but is not currently widely grown. A

As noted in an earlier Chart of Note, cold and wet weather and below-average growing conditions led to late planting, a later-than-usual harvest, and lowered FY 2011 beet sugar production. As evidenced by the successively lower yield forecasts, the desired higher additional crop production did not r

The Agricultural Trade Multipliers, one of many data products offered by the USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS), provide annual estimates of the effects of trade in farm and food products on the U.S. economy. These effects, when expressed as multipliers, reflect the amount of economic activity an

Production incentives for Indian oilseeds are being eroded by declining prices for imported vegetable oils, which are down to a six-year low. Indian rapeseed area fell 7 percent in 2014/15 to 6.6 million hectares. Peanut production is down 4.6 million hectares (15 percent) from 2013/14, continuing a

USDA's 2017 assessment of 76 low- and middle-income countries: 17.7 percent of people were food insecure, projected to fall to 8.9 percent by 2027, with Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia far apart.

The U.S. food retail sector experienced substantial consolidation and structural change over the last three decades. Market concentration, as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), is a measure of the extent to which market shares are concentrated between firms of the retail food sector a

The 2013/14 (August/July) U.S. rice crop is projected at 185.1 million cwt (hundredweight, rough basis), 7 percent below a year earlier and 24 percent below the record 2010/11 crop. U.S. 2013/14 long-grain is projected at 126.5 million cwt, 12 percent below a year earlier, while combined medium- and