Agricultural Exports One of America’s Strongest Economic Returns

KANSAS CITY, MO – Even in volatile market swings, the annual return on an investment in the stock market is nearly 17 percent. Average returns for international stocks are 7 percent, 3 percent for bonds, .4 percent for CDs, and almost 12 percent for real estate. Where might you look for a return of 103 percent?

The answer, according to the Economic Research Service (ERS), is agricultural exports which generate an additional $2.03 of economic activity for every $1 in export trade.

For instance, exports of grain first generate economic activity on the farm through purchases of inputs such as fuel and fertilizer, spurring additional economic activity in the manufacturing, trade, and transportation sectors. Getting the grain to the export market requires transportation, storage, and marketing, among many other services.

U.S. agricultural exports valued at $150 billion in 2020 generated an additional $154 billion in economic activity, for a total of $304 billion in economic output.

No sector outside of crop and livestock production benefited more from agricultural exports than the services, trade, and transportation sector, which generated $68 billion worth of additional economic activity while on the farm, agricultural exports supported an additional $32 billion of business activity beyond the value of the agricultural exports themselves.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)