WASHINGTON – The ever-increasing appetite for foreign foods and beverages in the United States is among the reasons the nation is expected to pay as much for imported farm products in fiscal 2005 as it earns by selling wheat, soybeans and other products abroad, according to a Department of Agriculture report released this week.
Whether it’s immigrants seeking a taste of home, a family hungry for out-of-season produce or a connoisseur hunting a vintage Bordeaux, the national pantry has become increasingly eclectic.
If the USDA’s forecast is accurate, 2005 will mark the first time since the late 1950s that the country didn’t record an agricultural surplus.
“It’s quite a surprise. We’ve had this trade surplus for so long and it’s been so large in most years. To be zero is a departure from where it’s been,” said Bruce Gardner, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland. “And the reasons suggest it isn’t likely to turn around. … This probably is not just a one-year blip.”
U.S. consumers are projected to buy more foreign wine, beer, fruits, vegetables and beef this year, helping push the value of all U.S. agricultural imports to $56 billion in the government fiscal year that started Oct. 1, up from $52.7 billion last year, the department said.
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