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Abstract
Exports of farm products fell for the second consecutive year in fiscal year 1983 to
$34.8 billion. Values for agricultural imports, especially for competitive items such
as live animals, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, beverages, and tobacco, gained
by 6 percent to $16.4 billion in fiscal year 1983. Currency exchange rates favoring
the U.S. dollar throughout most of 1983 reversed themselves in September after a
further decline in interest rates on short-term deposits in overseas banks. U.S.
agricultural shipments to Western Europe totaled $10.1 billion during fiscal year
1983, second only to Asia as a regional export market. U.S. agricultural exports as
_ a share of farm production, based on cash marketings, fell to 22 percent in fiscal
year 1983 from 24 percent the previous year.