Episode description

In the latest episode of “Talking Trade,” Mark Rhoda-Reis of DATCP discusses another potentially record-setting year for Wisconsin ag exports. 

Rhoda-Reis, the director of the agency’s International Agribusiness Center, said the state set a new record with $3.94 billion in ag exports in 2021, marking an 18 percent increase over the prior year. 

“And we’d had some challenging years, so that was good news to see,” he said. “And then year-to-date June, so our second quarter, we are already up 10 percent over that record amount. So it’s shaping up to be a strong year.” 

He gives an overview on the latest figures for Wisconsin dairy, crop and meat exports, all of which are on the rise. 

And he shares his thoughts on how the state has been faring amid all the challenges of the past several years, pointing to supply chain disruptions, shipping container shortages, higher shipping costs and COVID-19 disruption of export markets. 

“There’s a long list of things that we’re looking at, you would think that we would be down at this point,” he said. “But I think post-COVID demand has been so strong — and this is what the companies that we work with are telling us — that it’s actually been driving a lot of that need.”