U.S. Agricultural Exports in Southeast Asia

by Ethan Sabala and Fred Gale

Southeast Asia has potential for growth as an agricultural export market, with its growing population of middle-class consumers, especially for exporters such as the United States. Leading U.S. exports to Southeast Asia are soybean products, wheat, cotton, skim milk powder, and distillers’ grains. U.S. agricultural exports to Southeast Asia increased from $9.4 to $14.2 billion from 2012 to 2022, and the U.S. share of Southeast Asia’s agricultural imports was steady at just over 11 percent. China and Brazil, two of the top competitors, were the only exporters that gained market share over the period. China surpassed the United States to become the largest foreign supplier of agricultural goods to Southeast Asia, but few of China’s products compete directly with U.S. products. However, Brazil’s soybean products, cotton, poultry, and beef compete with U.S. products. Currently, the primary U.S. competitors for major agricultural commodities exported to Southeast Asia are Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, China, India, Canada, and Argentina.

Keywords: Southeast Asia, trade, soybeans, cotton, wheat, dairy, U.S. agricultural trade

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Report summary