Idaho ag export value up 2 percent

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

POCATELLO – The total value of Idaho agricultural exports increased 2 percent during the first three months of 2018.

The increase was due to improved pricing for many Idaho farm commodities as well as large crop inventories that were carried over from 2017, according to Doug Robison, Northwest Farm Credit Services’ senior vice president for agriculture in Western Idaho.

“Farm production within the state was positive this past year, with many commodities yielding at or above their trend-line yields, resulting in significant product available for export,” he told Idaho Farm Bureau Federation in an email. “Prices were improved for many commodities in the farm sector as well.”

During the first quarter of 2018, $214 million worth of agricultural products from Idaho were sold to other nations, according to Idaho State Department of Agriculture data. That represented a 2.3 percent increase over the same period in 2017.

Last year, the value of Idaho ag exports totaled $827 million, an increase of 10 percent compared with 2016.

Idaho set records for total value of agricultural exports from 2011-2014 but experienced declines in 2015 and 2016. The 10 percent increase in Idaho ag exports last year reversed that two-year slide but the 2017 total is still well below the record of $1 billion set in 2014.

The recent first-quarter increase, though slight, is noteworthy because it comes on the heels of last year’s increase, which reversed a two-year slide, and the export market is extremely important to Idaho’s farming and ranching industry.

“Exports continue to be vital to Idaho agriculture. Overall, roughly 20 percent of Idaho agriculture products are destined to international markets,” said Laura Johnson, who manages the ISDA’s market development division, which provided the export data. “That number is even higher for some products such as wheat, where 50 percent of the state’s total crop is shipped to foreign countries.”

Canada was the top foreign destination for Idaho farm products during the first quarter, as $70 million worth of ag products were sold to that nation, an 11 percent increase over the same period in 2017.

Mexico was second at $34 million, a 3 percent decline over 2017, followed by The Netherlands ($16 million and 0.7 percent increase), China ($12 million, 4 percent increase) and South Korea ($11 million, 24 percent decrease).

The totals, which are released quarterly, are based on U.S. Census Bureau data that is calculated for ISDA by a private company. The data is based on the zip code of the exporter of record and doesn’t capture a lot of Idaho farm products, such as wheat, that are shipped to other states before being exported.

A different total released annually by USDA analyzes the same Census Bureau data and attempts to overcome the issue of other states getting credit for Idaho products, Johnson said.

The USDA total is higher but more than a year behind the totals used for this story and doesn’t include country of destination or detailed product categories like that data does.

According to ISDA, Idaho exported more than $50 million worth of dairy products during the first quarter and dairy accounted for 17 percent of all Idaho farm product exports during that period.

Idaho also exported $45 million worth of edible vegetable products, $29 million worth of products included in the “oilseeds, miscellaneous grain, seed and fruit” category and $20 million worth of products included in the “milling, malt and starch” category.

Idaho exports of live animals increased 940 percent to $6 million during the first quarter.