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Farms Fuel Boom in US Exports

Strengthening dollar could trim growth of sales abroad

By Jim O'Neill,  Newser User

Posted Aug 18, 2008 9:21 AM CDT

(Newser) – Worldwide demand for grain and a weak US dollar helped drive exports up 7.1% in the first half of the year, providing a respite from the barrage of negative economic news. But experts warn the commodity-driven rise could be brief, reports the New York Times. Export surges of agricultural products “tend to go away pretty quickly,” said one analyst.

So far, manufactured goods have made up just 12% of the increase, commodities 41%. But domestic and international agricultural products are interchangeable, while US businesses have committed to globalization over the past 2 decades. Said a Cleveland-based industrial manufacturer: "Our customers just love for us to make our stuff near their new operations, and if we do, they reward us with a lot of business."

A crane loads a cargo container onto a ship at the Port of Miami in Miami.
A crane loads a cargo container onto a ship at the Port of Miami in Miami.   (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, file)
A 20-inch conveyor adds another 1,000 bushels to the mountain of approximately 75,000 bushels of corn rising from the ground at D&M Community Grain in Zabcikville, Texas.
A 20-inch conveyor adds another 1,000 bushels to the mountain of approximately 75,000 bushels of corn rising from the ground at D&M Community Grain in Zabcikville, Texas.   (AP Photo/Temple Daily Telegram, Scott Gaulin)
Corn plants grow in a field near Grimes, Iowa, Tuesday Aug. 12, 2008.
Corn plants grow in a field near Grimes, Iowa, Tuesday Aug. 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
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