Understanding ASEAN Agricultural Production, Consumption, and Trade Potential

Exports account for approximately 20% of the total value of U.S. agricultural and food products (USDA, 2020). Expanding access to growing foreign markets can further enhance the value U.S. producers receive for their products, thus supporting farm income and rural communities. A potential source of export growth for U.S. agricultural and food products is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region (Lee and Jones, 2023), which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam (ASEAN, 2023). Some of these countries (e.g., Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines) are major destination markets for U.S. agricultural exports. The region has an estimated population of over 685 million people, approximately 8.5% of the world’s 2023 estimated population of 8.03 billion. Additionally, over half of the ASEAN population is under 35 years old (Figure 1), and the middle class is expanding rapidly, from 41 million in 2000 to over 200 million in 2020 (Statista, 2022; Brueckner et al., 2017). These factors suggest that ASEAN will continue to be a major destination market for U.S. agriculture. While this special issue is focused on the potential for increased agricultural trade between the United States and ASEAN, this article summarizes the production and consumption of major agricultural commodities to assess the overall trade potential and potential for increased U.S. agricultural exports to the region.