18 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In consequence of the favorable balance of trade in farm products, 

 the entire forei,c:n trade of the United States in merchandise has 

 exhibitetl a surjilus of exports over imports almost constantly 

 since 1S75. 



EXPORTS. 



The value of the exports of farm products, after constant oscilla- 

 tion, increased to the enormous amount of $1,017,396,404 in 1908, 

 from which there was a decline in 1909 and another in 1910, for 

 which latter year the amount stands at $871,107,067, a value which 

 has been exceeded only in the years 1901 and 1906 previous to 1907. 



In the exports of 1910 the principal item was cotton with a value 

 of $450,447,243. Next in order stands packing-house products with 

 a value of $135,959,373; third in order are grain and grain products 

 valued at $133,320,418; after which are tobacco, $38,115,386; oil 

 and oil-cake meal, $19,251,012; fruits, $18,504,591; live animals, 

 $17,447,735. Compared with 1909, there was a decrease in all of the 

 principal items except in cotton, for which the increase was about 

 $33,000,000, fruits about $2,500,000, and tobacco about $7,000,000. 



Farm products as an element of the value of domestic exports 

 have had a decreasing ratio from about 80 per cent at the middle 

 of the nineteenth century to 61.6 per cent in 1900, 55,1 per cent in 

 1909, and 50.9 per cent in 1910. 



IMPORTS. 



The imports of farm products have constantly increased in value 

 throughout the liistory of this country's international trade. They 

 constituted about 25 to 33 per cent of the value of all imports at 

 the middle of the nineteenth century and they increased to 50 per 

 cent and over at the end of that century, since which time they have 

 varied, but have not reached 50 per cent subsequent to 1899. The 

 fraction for 1910 is 44,1 per cent of the value of all imports. 



In absolute instead of relative value, however, the imports of farm 

 products have constantly increased until they reached the enormous 

 total of $687,486,188 in 1910, an amount much above that of 1909 

 and still further above the more prominent amounts of the preceding 

 years. 



Among the more prominent imports of agricultural products for 

 1910 are packing-house products, $130,140,313, mostly hides and 

 skins; sugar and molasses, $107,716,367; coffee, $69,194,353; silk, 

 $67,119,108; wool, $51,220,844; vegetable fibers, $48,234,977; tobacco, 

 $27,756,133; fruits, $24,177,160. 



Increases are found, 1910 over 1909, in packing-house products, 

 wool, vegetable fibers, fruits, sugar and molasses, and tobacco. 



