CHS: Global trade winds continue shifting away from American farmers and cooperatives

American farmers and cooperatives are facing more competition in vital export markets around the world, the nation’s leading ag cooperative wrote in a filing Wednesday.

Inver Grove Heights-based CHS said its profits were squeezed this spring amid “waning demand for U.S. grain and oilseed as global trade flows continue to shift away from the U.S. and to other markets around the world.”

“Currently, there is strong agricultural production around the world,” said John Griffith, executive vice president of agriculture at CHS. “The increased supply of grain and oilseed has led to strong competition for demand globally; buyers truly have a variety of options for where they source these commodities, not just from the U.S.”

Though commodity prices will rise and fall over time, the ability to sell crops at any price partly hinges on global trading partners lining up to buy. In recent years, U.S. agricultural exports have dropped while imports continue to rise.

This year, the nation’s ag trade deficit could hit a record $32 billion, nearly twice what it was last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast in May. The country has long enjoyed a trade surplus — more exports than imports — but the pandemic, a trade war with China and other global disruptions have limited export opportunities in recent years.

Last year Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford pressed the Biden administration to lower trade barriers for American farmers and pitched a plan to “counter recent trends of agricultural trade exports falling behind.”

“It would also enhance the ability of American producers to gain market access and maintain competitiveness,” she said in November.

About 20% of the country’s food and agriculture production is exported.

CHS expects tight profit margins in its agriculture business at least through the remainder of the year. The cooperative, which is a major global commodity trader, is directly exposed to price swings caused by a variety of economic, climate and political factors. The company’s oil refining and fuel marketing business has also suffered from excess market supply and higher costs.

“Although we continue to feel the adverse impacts of softening margins for ag and energy commodities, CHS is well positioned to navigate this commodity cycle downturn through a strong focus on cost control and efficiency,” CEO Jay Debertin said in a statement Wednesday. “We are performing well and our supply chain investments enable us to connect farmers and member cooperatives with the inputs and services they need to help feed a growing global population.”

CHS reported a $297 million profit for its third fiscal quarter that ended in May, a 45% decline from the year before. Revenue fell 20% to $9.6 billion.