Public Information Office (213-555-6263)
FOR RELEASE 7/21/92
Agricultural productivity in America is still suffering from the effects of the 1988 war.
The first comprehensive study since 1987 of agricultural productivity in America has just been completed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The results reveal that even after three years, the United States still lags behind prewar productivity by nearly 50 percent. As a result, U.S. exports have dropped by more than 95 percent.
In 1987, for example, the nine major agricultural exports were wheat, oats, corn, barley, rice, soybeans, tobacco, edible vegetable oils, and cotton. In that year the United States accounted for more than 30 percent of the total world production in these nine products. In 1991, however, the U.S. accounted for only 14 percent of the total world production. Table One summarizes this trend.
The Department’s recent study also confirms early surveys, which suggested that the 19 states most directly affected by the war remain considerably behind the rest of the nation in agricultural recovery. These states were either directly struck by the Soviets in 1988 or suffered from high levels of radioactive fallout. Total U.S. agricultural production is particularly affected because of the high prewar concentration of farms in these 19 states.
Although the study covers all phases of agriculture, wheat production is used as a standard to reveal the scope of diminished American productivity. Table Two uses wheat-production data for 1987 and 1991 as a benchmark for demonstrating the effects of the war in 19 critical states.
| COMMODITY | 1987 | 1991 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. PERCENTAGE OF WORLD PRODUCTION | PERCENTAGE OF U.S. EXPORTS | U.S. PERCENTAGE OF WORLD PRODUCTION | PERCENTAGE OF U.S. EXPORTS | |
| Wheat | 18.1% | 53.0% | 7.9% | Negligible |
| Oats | 18.3 | 5.1 | 6.7 | Neg. |
| Corn | 49.2 | 73.2 | 30.4 | Neg. |
| Barley | 7.3 | 11.9 | 4.2 | Neg. |
| Rice | 2.7 | 24.4 | 2.0 | Neg. |
| Soybeans | 65.0 | 87.0 | 42.3 | 10.1% |
| Tobacco | 17.1 | 22.1 | 14.6 | 5.2 |
| Veg. oils | 28.3 | 14.0 | 16.7 | .5 |
| Cotton | 20.2 | 37.6 | 9.4 | Neg. |
