The largest U.S. export volume declines are to China, Russia, Venezuela, South Korea, Nigeria, and Indonesia. Many of these countries' exchange rates have depreciated against the dollar, reducing their purchasing power. Volume shipped likewise jumped 3.1 million from 1999 to a cumulative 21.6 million tons. Soybean prices edged up a bit over 1999 prices but remain 30 percent below the high 1996 prices. China dramatically increased soybean imports for processing into meal and oil.
Brazil continues to increase soybean exports in competition with the United States.
Cotton prices remain depressed but have pushed sales to Turkey, East Asia, and Southeast Asia far ahead of 1999. The United States' biggest market, Mexico, has imported 260,000 tons of cotton thus far in 2000, a 50,000-ton gain from 1999. The biggest customers for red meat have been Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Mexico. Only nuts and preparations registered an export loss thus far, as almond sales to the EU plummeted. Competitive imports were principally from developed countries-Canada, the EU, and Australia.