Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
The value of agricultural exports from North Carolina continues to hover near $4 billion, according to a report from USDA’s Economic Research Service.
The report covered the year 2013, and it showed the value of North Carolina’s ag exports was more than $3.7 billion. That figure doesn’t take into account the $1.5 billion in forestry exports from the state.
North Carolina top export commodities were pork ($739 million), poultry ($699 million) and tobacco ($565 million). The state ranked second nationally in the export of pork and poultry and No. 1 in tobacco exports. Other North Carolina commodities with international demand included cotton, soybeans, wheat and sweet potatoes.
Agricultural products are important in terms of international trade. And there are a couple of reasons for that. One, roughly 95 percent of the world population lives outside the United States. And two, North Carolina has products the world already enjoys, wants, and needs. Agricultural products meet the most basic of human needs. They feed us, they clothe us and they shelter us. They are necessities.
That ensures that there will always be a demand for agricultural commodities. The key is establishing relationships now to ensure that N.C. farmers and agribusinesses are the ones meeting that demand. That’s a big focus of the department’s international trade staff.
Click on the audio player below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss North Carolina’s ag exports.
[Audio:http://info.ncagr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_3-31.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for March 31]
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