Idaho ahead of last year’s pace for ag export value

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

POCATELLO – Idaho is well ahead of pace to set another annual record for total value of agricultural exports.

A total of $695 million worth of agricultural products from Idaho were sold to other countries through the first half of 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data that became available in August.

That’s a 15 percent increase over the total that was recorded during the same six-month period in 2023.

“That’s a big number for the first six months of the year,” said Laura Johnson, who manages the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s marketing division, which provided the ag export value numbers.

Idaho has set records for total ag export value for the past three years.

According to Doug Robison, the Idaho president for AgWest Farm Credit, Idaho experienced an impressive run of export strength with Canada and Mexico during the first half of 2024. They the state’s two largest ag export partners.

The Census Bureau data shows that $234 million worth of farm products from Idaho were exported to Canada during the first half of 2024, making that nation the top ag export market for Idaho.

That $234 million number was a 21 percent increase compared to the same period last year. A total of $71 million worth of live animals (cattle) was exported to Canada during the first half of 24, which represents a 78 percent increase over the same period in 2023.

Mexico ranked as the No. 2 destination for Idaho ag exports, as $130 million worth of Idaho ag products were sold to Mexico from January through June.

“We are shipping huge amounts of (potato products) to Mexico,” Johnson said.

The Census Bureau data shows $73 million worth of “prepared vegetables” and $14 million worth of “edible vegetables” were exported from Idaho to Canada during the first half of 2024. The prepared vegetables category includes mostly frozen potato products such as French fries, and the edible vegetables category includes mostly fresh potatoes.

Mexico in 2022 agreed to grant full market access for U.S. fresh potatoes beyond a 26-kilometer border zone that previously marked the limit of their export.

The Idaho and U.S. potato industries fought for more than two decades to try to realize the goal of selling fresh potatoes in all of Mexico.

The U.S. was always allowed to export frozen potato products, such as French fries, to all of Mexico, but fresh U.S. potatoes were previously only allowed within a 16-mile area along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Mexico is becoming an important destination for Idaho potatoes, with first half potato exports to Mexico increasing more than 127%, nearly rivaling all of last year’s potato exports to the country,” Robison said. 

The export market is very important to the state’s agricultural industry because so much of the food produced here ends up in other countries, Johnson said.

For example, one in every six rows of Idaho potatoes is exported, one in every six gallons of Idaho milk is processed into products that are exported, and half of the wheat grown in the state is exported, according to ISDA.

Dairy is still the state’s top ag export by value, but the total value of Idaho dairy exports declined by 5 percent during the first half of the year, to $134 million.

U.S. dairy export value declined by 5 percent in May compared to last year, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

According to USDEC, “The decline comes on the heels of an increase in April and offers the latest evidence that U.S. (dairy) exports have struggled to gain real traction so far this year. Overall, May exemplified the up-and-down nature of 2024, with export sales mixed due to wide variation across products and regions.”

U.S. dairy export value declined by 6 percent through May, according to USDEC.

According to the Census Bureau data, $109 million worth of products from Idaho in the prepared vegetable category and $92 million worth of products in the edible vegetable category were exported during the first half. That represented increases of 55 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

Live animal exports (cattle) from Idaho are soaring, with $76 million worth of export value in this category recorded during the first half. That’s a 90 percent increase year over year. The vast majority of live animal exports from Idaho went to Canada.

A record $1.18 billion worth of Idaho agricultural products were exported to other countries in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That represented three straight years of record export value from Idaho.

A separate set of data released annually by USDA in the fall shows Idaho set ag export value records in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The USDA data for 2023 will be released in early November.

The Census Bureau data is based on what state a commodity is exported from, so it doesn’t capture all of Idaho’s farm product exports. For example, it wouldn’t capture the wheat from Idaho that is exported out of Portland.

The USDA data, which shows Idaho sold $2.89 billion worth of ag products in 2022, captures more of the state’s farm exports but is not as timely as the Census Bureau data, which is released monthly.

However, both sets of data track closely when it comes to percentage increases and decreases.