U.S. farm exports to Asia may fall further

U.S. farm exports to Asia may fall further

CHICAGO (Reuters): U.S. agriculture exports to Southeast Asia
this fiscal year may drop by more than the US$500 million the
U.S. Agriculture Department estimated last month, U.S.
Agriculture Department Deputy Chief Economist Joseph Glauber said
Tuesday.

"The situation since Dec. 2 has worsened a bit. I would expect
a revision downward in terms of exports to that region," Glauber
told a Chicago Board of Trade economic outlook conference. He
said his forecast assumed no further increases in USDA-issued
GSM-102 export credits.

On Dec 2, the USDA estimated U.S. farm exports at $58.5
billion for the current fiscal year. The economic crisis in
Southeast Asia was expected to trim sales to that region by $500
million, the USDA said then.

Since December, the USDA has approved $1 billion in GSM
credits to South Korea. Credits available to Southeast Asian
countries swelled to more than $1 billion on Monday when USDA
extended an additional $545 million in loan guarantees to help
the financially troubled region buy U.S. farm goods.

The credits announced Monday included a new $100 million
export credit line for Malaysia, and increases in existing credit
lines to Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Glauber said the GSM credits may prompt some Asian grain
purchases but not enough to raise U.S. prices.

Exports of U.S. farm goods to East Asia have shrunk
dramatically in the current marketing year, which began on Sept.
1. As of Dec. 25, according to USDA figures, South Korea had
bought 789,900 tons of U.S. corn in the current season compared
with 2.421 million a year ago. Indonesia had bought no corn,
versus 103,000 tons a year ago, and Malaysian had bought 52,000
tons compared with 438,200 a year ago.