US farm exports may exceed $142bn forecast for year

US farm exports may top the record $142bn (€110.6bn) forecast in February as agreements with China and Russia reduce trade barriers and buyers replenish supplies at lower prices, US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said.

Shipments valued at $55bn through January, a third of the way through the fiscal year, show the US on a path to sell the most exports ever, Vilsack said in an interview in Washington.

The department also announced that Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan have agreed to accept shipments of day-old chicks and hatching eggs, as well as agreements allowing live dairy-cattle exports to Iraq and the first sales of pears to China, Vilsack said. The Asian nation is forecast to be the biggest buyer of US farm products for a second straight year.