Farm Bureau Analyzes Bridge Collapse Impact on Ag

On March 26, a container ship rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in in the structure’s collapse and six lost lives. The American Farm Bureau says there will be an impact on American agriculture.

On the export side, in 2023, over 605,000 metric tons of agricultural products were exported from Baltimore, corresponding to nearly $650 million in value. This equates to 0.3 percent of total U.S. ag exports by quantity and 0.4 percent by value. In terms of volume, 415,678 metric tons of soybeans were exports from Baltimore in 2023, or 0.9 percent of all U.S. soybean exports. In terms of the largest export destinations for agricultural products leaving Baltimore, they include Taiwan, China, and Colombia.

On the import side, more than 1.59 million metric tons of agricultural products entered the U.S. through Baltimore, corresponding to almost $3.34 billion in value. The most imports in Baltimore come from Brazil.