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• PS&D Online Country and Region Definitions
• Frequently Asked Questions & Answers
Years Covered
Data generally begin with the 1960/61 marketing year. There are some exceptions.
Related Resources
• World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE)
• FAS Commodity Circulars
• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
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USDA’s PS&D Online data for those commodities published in the WASDE Report are reviewed and updated monthly by an interagency committee chaired by USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB), and consisting of: the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the Economic Research Service (ERS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
The international portion of the data is updated with input from agricultural attachés stationed at U.S. embassies around the world, FAS commodity analysts, and country and commodity analysts with ERS. The U.S. domestic component is updated with input from analysts in FAS, ERS, the National Agricultural Statistical Service, and FSA. Interagency work on the database is carried out under the aegis of the WAOB.
The official USDA supply and use data is published monthly in: WAOB, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE); in the Foreign Agricultural Commodity Circular series issued by FAS; and in the regional situation and outlook reports and monthly commodity newsletters of ERS (see keywords Crops and Livestock). Data for horticultural products are usually published twice a year.
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For a list of the countries and regional groupings in PS&D Online, please click here.
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General Questions
- How often is PS&D Online updated?
- Is PS&D Online for all countries updated every month?
- When does USDA first make the short-term forecast for the next year?
- What is a supply and distribution table?
- What units are used in PS&D Online?
- What data does USDA use?
- How does USDA’s data differ from FAO’s?
- When does USDA use data from a country’s government and when does it use another source?
- When do estimates become "final?"
- Which years are used for PS&D Online commodities in the USDA database?
- What are the exceptions to the years used in PS&D Online? What are standard trade years?
- How does PS&D Online report European Union data?
- Why is the column "imports from the U.S." not always up-to-date?
- Define cotton attributes.
- Define USDA’s oilseeds and meals. How does "total vegetable oil" differ from "total oils?"
- Define oilseeds attributes and the marketing year used for oilseeds and products.
- Why don’t soybean ending stocks, and sometimes consumption and trade data, in PS&D Online match published USDA data?
- Why don’t total imports equal total exports for oilseeds and products?
- Define the different types of tobacco.
- Terms used in PS&D Online tables for leaf tobacco.
- Why doesn’t PS&D Online’s world total for the livestock complex include every country in the world?
- Why do PS&D Online’s historical data for EU livestock sometimes differ from published USDA data?
- Livestock terms used in PS&D Online tables.
- Poultry terms used in PS&D Online tables.
- Dairy terms used in PS&D Online tables.
- Why doesn’t world and foreign grain consumption sum correctly from the regional totals?
- More on Grain and Feed commodities.
- Define Grain and Feed attributes.
- Why doesn’t PS&D Online’s world total for horticultural products include every country in the world?
- What types of tree nuts are covered in the PS&D Online tables?
- Terms used in PS&D Online tables for fresh fruits, asparagus, and avocados.
- Terms used in PS&D Online tables for other horticultural and tropical products.
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How often is PS&D Online updated?
Grains, Oilseeds, and Cotton: monthly, appearing on the Internet within 2 working days after the USDA releases the WASDE report, or about the 12th of each month.
Sugar, Coffee and the Livestock Complex: bi-annually, appearing at the same time as the monthly data.
Sugar, estimated May and Nov., should appear in June and December.
Livestock, estimated March & Oct.
Tobacco: Updated mid-May through June as the new Attaché Reports arrive. Also update periodically throughout the year when new data is received.
Forest and Fishery Products: monthly, based upon receipt of annual reports, which are scheduled to arrive throughout the year.
Horticultural products (see Release Schedule).
Is PS&D Online for all countries updated every month?
For the commodities updated monthly--grains, oilseeds, and cotton--usually only the most significant countries are considered each month and updated if new information is available. Other countries are updated only when new information becomes available.
For commodities with only annual reporting requirements, such as forest and fishery products, updates are provided soon after receipt of the reports. Comprehensive data is therefore available only after receipt and posting of the final annual report in the series.
When does USDA first make the short-term forecast for the next year?
• U.S. & world crop totals: May.
• Individual countries for wheat, rice and coarse grains: May.
• Individual countries for oilseeds, & cotton: July.
• Livestock complex: Late October.
• Sugar: Late May (appears on Internet with June data release).
• Forest and Fishery Products: Since updates for Forest and Fishery Products arrive throughout the year, the first short-term forecast for the next year depends on the schedule of the individual country. Forest and Fishery Products forecasts are unofficial at all times, and are not reviewed by an interagency committee or USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board.
• Coffee: June (appears on Internet with June data release).
Horticultural products (see Release Schedule).
What is a supply and distribution table?
A supply and distribution, or supply and use, table is a standard method of accounting for the total supply of a particular commodity and the total use of the same commodity. Supply and use tables are usually on the basis of the marketing year for the commodity because that is the period in which the supply and use will balance. In every supply and use table, supply must equal use in each marketing year.
• Supply = beginning stocks + domestic production + imports.
• Use = domestic consumption + exports + ending stocks.
• Domestic consumption = all possible uses of the commodity: food, feed, seed, waste, and industrial processing.
Stocks include all of the commodity which is not currently in use, regardless of where it is stored: on the farm, in a warehouse or elevator awaiting marketing, at a port awaiting shipment, at a mill awaiting use, or in emergency government reserve.
• Ending stocks = the unused commodity remaining at the end of the marketing year for use in the next year.
• Beginning stocks = the ending stocks carried into the new marketing year from the previous year.
Although the supply and use data are balanced for the local marketing year, the PS&D Online system also includes standard international trade years for some commodities for comparison purposes. For more information, see What are the exceptions to the years used in PS&D Online? What are standard trade years?
What units are used in PS&D Online?
All units are metric.
Grains
• Area: 1,000 hectares harvested, except when countries only release planted area data, then planted area data is used instead of harvested area even though it is labeled "Area Harvested."
• Production, Trade, & Use: 1000 metric tons.
• Rice: milled basis (a separate column is provided for rough (paddy) weight production).
Cotton
• Metric tons. Lint basis.
Coffee
• Bags: 60 kilograms or 132.276 pounds of green coffee "ton" equals a metric ton of 1,000 kilograms or 2,204.6 pounds; and "pound" equals 453.597 grams. Green bean equivalent.
Horticultural Products
• Citrus juice data - Brix levels (refers to the percentage, by weight, of sugar in the juice) for juices should be identified. If possible, converted to 65 degrees brix equivalent.
• Tree nut data - Converted to a shelled weight basis for almonds and to an in-shell weight basis for other nuts.
• Processed tomatoes - data on a net weight basis.
• For paste (concentrate) - average percent of total tomato solids (TSS) for the data shown. In terms of 28-30 percent TSS. Canned tomatoes include crushed tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato wedges, etc., as well as canned whole tomatoes.
• Canned fruit - Data presented in metric tons (net weight). One metric ton net weight is equal to 48.9911 cases of 24 2?1/2 cans. Note that Anet weight@ equals the weight of the fruit plus the liquid. Gross weight equals the weight of the fruit, plus the liquid, plus the can. The most common factor for converting gross canned fruit weight to net weight is 0.83.
Wine
• 1000 hectoliters.
Sugar
• Raw basis or in raw sugar equivalents.
Tobacco
• Unmanufactured Tobacco: Metric Tons.
• Cigarettes: 1,000 Pieces.
• Cigars: Pieces.
• Other Manufactured Products: Metric Tons.
Dairy, Livestock, and Poultry
• Live animals are in 1,000 head.
• Red meat is 1,000 tons, in carcass weight.
• Poultry meat is 1,000 tons, in ready-to-cook weight.
• Products such as fluid milk, dry milk, cheese, etc. are in 1,000 tons.
Forest Products Complex
• Logs, lumber, plywood, and oriented strand board data are in 1,000 cubic meters.
• Veneers are in 1,000 square meters.
• Wood chips are in 1,000 metric tons.
Fishery Products Complex
• All are in metric tons.
What data does USDA use?
USDA uses official country statistics, reports from agricultural attaches at U.S. embassies, data from international organizations, publications from individual countries, information from traders both inside and outside a country, and other available information.
How does USDA’s data differ from FAO’s?
USDA makes projections on a marketing year basis (except for the livestock complex, the forest products complex, the fishery products complex, and tobacco (calendar year)). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) uses calendar years for all commodities.
USDA estimates are based on a number of available sources. FAO is required to use member countries’ official statistics when these are available.
USDA provides projections and forecasts for the current season in progress. FAO releases data for a country and commodity mainly after the season ends and generally does not include forecasts for the year in progress.
When does USDA use data from a country’s government and when does it use another source?
In many cases, the eventual "final" figure used by USDA is the official figure from the country’s government. In some cases, alternate sources may be used regularly instead of that of the government because they have over time proven to be more complete, more reliable, or more timely than the government source. During the current season in progress most data are forecasts. Some of these current year forecasts also are based on countries’ official releases. For example, developed countries often release timely, survey-based, updates as the producing season progresses. They also release monthly trade data and some consumption and stock data during the season. USDA uses these data, except if a sharp change has altered the situation since the date of the countries’ survey. Then USDA will try to account for this change in its forecasts. For most other countries the current season is a USDA forecast based on progress reports from other sources.
When do estimates become "final?"
The PS&D database is a working document, and is subject to revision as new information becomes available. As a practical matter, analysts generally do not make revisions to estimates more than three or four years old.
Which years are used for PS&D Online commodities in the USDA database?
All years are local marketing years. Local marketing years differ by country and by commodity and therefore do not aggregate logically.
• Livestock complex: years are calendar years.
• Grains, oilseeds, & cotton: the year listed is the first year of a country’s local marketing year for that commodity (e.g. 1990 represents 1990/91) except southern hemisphere countries where the 2nd year is the beginning of the local marketing year. The local marketing year for each commodity can be found in Data Availability.
• Sugar: the year listed is the last year of the countries’ local marketing year (e.g. 1990 represents 1989/90).
• Frozen French fries: calendar years.
• Tobacco: calendar years.
• Forest products complex: calendar years.
• Fishery products complex: calendar years.
• Horticultural products: (see Release Schedule).
What are the exceptions to the years used in PS&D Online? What are standard trade years?
For Grains, standard international trade years have been created in the USDA database to allow more accurate aggregation of total world trade at a given point in time. The adjustments are based on countries’ monthly trade data. These standard international trade years are the years on which the "official" published USDA grain trade data is based. They are:
• Wheat: July/June.
• Coarse grains: October/September.
• Rice: January/December calendar year following the marketing year indicated (e.g. 1990 rice market year shows standardized rice trade for calendar year 1991).
• Total Grain: an aggregate of the above 3 types of years, without adjustment.
For Oilseeds, standard trade years vary among commodities. Most seeds, meals, and oils are reported on either an October/September or calendar year basis. The exception is olive oil that is reported on a November/October year. Calendar year figures are provided for smaller countries and minor commodities. Major oilseed producing countries are on a local marketing year roughly based on harvest dates or October/September basis. For Northern Hemisphere countries, these local marketing years are:
• Soybeans: September/August.
• Rapeseed: July/June.
• Sunflowerseed: September/August.
• Peanuts: August/July.
• Cottonseed: October/September.
• Copra: October/September.
• Palm Kernel: October/September.
Southern Hemisphere marketing years generally begin in March or April.
For cotton all data is reported on an August/July trade year.
Horticultural products (see Release Schedule).
How does PS&D Online report European Union data?
The European Union generally refers to the EU-25 which consists of the following countries: Austria, Belgium-Luxembourg, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Individual EU member states’ data are included in the PS&D Online system for all commodities except:
• Wheat, Corn, Barley, Sorghum, Oats, Rye, Millet, Mixed-Grains, and Rice from 1960 to the present for the EU-15, and from 1999/00 to the present for the ten new member states (NMS-10).
• Dairy and Livestock, from 2000 to the present. Poultry, from 1997 to present.
Please note that for grains, the PS&D Online displays EU-25 data for 1999/00 through the present. The trade figures for the EU-25 for the years 1999/00 through 2002/03 are inflated by the two-way trade between the two sectors (EU-15 and acceding 10). Over the past 6 years, this “intra-trade” has averaged about 700,000 tons for wheat, 350,000 tons each for corn and barley, and 150,000 tons for rye. The trade figures also include intra-trade between members of the acceding 10. From 2003/04 forward, all intra-trade has been removed. For the years 1960/61 through 1998/99, there is a uniform EU-15 time series that reflects only third-country trade. EU-15 member states’ data for grains are no longer maintained in the official USDA database. Similarly, data for the individual NMS-10 exists only prior to 1999/00.
Why is the column "imports from the U.S." not always up-to-date?
The attribute "imports from the U.S." is updated in USDA’s database only once a year when US Census data is available to avoid partial projections.
Cotton, Oilseeds, Tobacco and Seeds Answers
Define cotton attributes.
• Marketing Year: Follows a U.S. Marketing Year, August 1 to July 31.
• Area Planted: Generally includes any planted cotton area that is not harvested. Area planted is adjusted to exclude land originally planted to cotton but switched to other crops because of occurrences such as poor germination or early destruction.
• Area Harvested: The area of land planted to cotton from which cotton is actually harvested.
• Beginning Stocks: The quantity of cotton lint located physically within a country on August 1. This includes cotton lint that has been contracted for shipment but has not yet been shipped. This excludes cotton lint that has been processed into any other form. Beginning stocks for a year equal the ending stocks of the previous year.
• Domestic Consumption: Cotton lint processed into textile or non-textile products by the domestic industry.
• Ending Stocks: The quantity of cotton lint located physically within a country on July 31. This includes cotton lint that has been contracted for shipment but has not yet been shipped. This excludes cotton lint that has been processed into any other form. Ending stocks for the year equal the beginning stocks of the following year.
• Exports/Imports: The quantity of cotton lint physically exported to or imported from other countries between August 1 and July 31. This excludes cotton lint that has been sold or contracted for sale, but has not yet physically been exported or imported.
• Loss: Cotton that has been destroyed or cannot be accounted for.
• Production: The amount of lint produced from harvested seed cotton. Cotton production does not include cotton linters.
• Total Supply: Total supply is equal to beginning stocks + production + imports.
• Total Domestic Consumption: Domestic consumption + loss.
• Total Distribution: Exports + domestic consumption + loss + ending stocks.
Define USDA’s oilseeds and meals. How does "total vegetable oil" differ from "total oils?"
Oilseeds: A seed or crop grown largely for its oil. This includes soybean, cottonseed, peanut, rapeseed (canola), sunflowerseed, copra, and palm kernel.
Oil meals: The solid residue left after extracting oil from seeds. Used primarily as animal feed. This includes soybean, cottonseed, peanut, rapeseed, sunflowerseed, copra, palm kernel, and fishmeals.
Tropical oils: Oils derived from fruits and seeds from trees grown in tropical climates. These include coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil.
Vegetable oils: Oils derived from seeds or fruit of oil-bearing plants. This includes soybean, cottonseed, peanut, rapeseed, sunflowerseed, coconut, palm, palm kernel, and olive oils.
Total oils: Includes oils derived from vegetable and marine sources. Includes soybean, cottonseed, peanut, rapeseed, sunflowerseed, coconut, palm, palm kernel, and olive oils.
Define oilseeds attributes and the marketing year used for oilseeds and products.
For Oilseeds, standard trade years vary among commodities. Most seeds, meals, and oils are reported on either an October/September or calendar year basis. The exception is olive oil that is reported on a November/October year. Calendar year figures are provided for smaller countries and minor commodities. Major oilseed producing countries are on a local marketing year roughly based on harvest dates or October/September basis. For Northern Hemisphere countries, these local marketing years are:
• Soybeans: September/August.
• Rapeseed: July/June.
• Sunflowerseed: September/August.
• Peanuts: August/July.
• Cottonseed: October/September.
• Copra: October/September.
• Palm Kernel: October/September.
Southern Hemisphere marketing years generally begin in March or April.
• Area Harvested: A measure of the land surface delineated in hectares, from which all types of a specified oilseed are gathered in the dry, unprocessed state upon plant maturity.
Trees: The number of producing trees from which a specified oil bearing fruit is gathered in the specified 12-month period.
• Beginning Stocks: The quantity of meal, oil, or unprocessed, dry seeds, in metric tons, held in all known storage facilities, or in transit to those facilities, at the beginning of the specified, 12-month, marketing year period. The marketing period normally corresponds to a local crop/marketing year. (Beginning Stocks Yt = Ending Stocks Yt - 1).
• Production: The weighed quantity of meal, oil, or dry, unprocessed seeds harvested within a specified 12-month period, measured in metric tons, prior to processing. Peanuts are included on an unshelled basis.
Marketing Year Imports: The quantity of a commodity declared upon entry by a country, usually at specified prices/terms, from a foreign seller during a specified 12-month period corresponding to that country's marketing year, and measured in metric tons.
• Imports from the United States: Used by USDA to determine U.S. market share by marketing year.
• Imports from the EC: Used by USDA to determine EU intra trade and E.U. market share by marketing year. This data includes countries of the E.U. 15 (E.U. 12 from before expansion.)
• Total Supply: Beginning Stocks + Production + Total Imports
• Marketing Year Exports: The quantity of a commodity declared upon exit from a country during a specified 12-month period corresponding to that country's marketing year, and measured in metric tons.
• Exports to the EC: Used by USDA to determine E.U. intra trade and market share of the E.U. This data includes countries of the E.U. 15 (E.U. 12 from before expansion.)
• Crush Domestic Consumption: The quantity of oilseed processed into meal and oil, during the specified 12-month marketing year period. The process of crushing an oilseed will also produce waste, so the sum of meal and oil produced from an oilseed will be less than the quantity of oilseed crushed.
• Food Use Domestic Consumption: The quantity of oilseed or product used for food or cooking, as measured in metric tons, during the specified 12-month marketing year period.
• Feed, Seed, Waste and Domestic Consumption: The quantity of oilseed or product used for animal feed, planting seed, and lost due to shrinkage, spillage or waste, as measured in metric tons, during the specified 12-month marketing year period.
• Industrial Domestic Consumption: The quantity of oilseed or product used for producing processed foods, non-food products, and bio-fuels, as measured in metric tons, during the specified 12-month marketing year period.
• Total Domestic Consumption: The sum of the forms of domestic consumption. Crush + Food + Feed + Industrial
• Ending Stocks: The quantity of meal, oil, or unprocessed, dry seeds, in metric tons, held in all known storage facilities or in transit to those facilities, at the end of the specified 12-month marketing year period. (Ending Stocks Yt = Beginning Stocks Yt+1).
• Total Distribution: Total Exports + Total Domestic Consumption + Ending Stocks
Why don’t soybean ending stocks, and sometimes consumption and trade data, in PS&D Online match published USDA data?
The world soybean supply and use data "officially" used by USDA is published in the monthly circular: FAS, Oilseeds: World Markets & Trade. This data adjusts Brazil and Argentina from local marketing years to a standard October/September marketing year for a more consistent world total. Thus, stocks for these two countries and the world are calculated as of September rather than as of the end of their local soybean marketing years (Feb/Jan and Apr/Mar).
In PS&D Online, all supply and use variables for Brazil and Argentina remain on the local marketing year basis and are not adjusted. Although the area, yield, and production data in PS&D Online are the same as the published USDA data, ending stocks and trade for Brazil, Argentina, and any aggregates including either of these 2 countries, differ from the published USDA data.
To obtain the most recent 5 years of USDA oilseeds ending stocks data go to http://www.fas.usda.gov for the monthly FAS Oilseeds circular publication or call the Cotton, Oilseeds, Tobacco and Seeds Division, Foreign Agriculture Service, USDA (202-720-9516). Or consult the monthly publication WAOB, World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE), which also contains adjusted USDA data for Brazil and Argentina, and can be found at http://www.usda.gov/oce/waob/wasde/wasde.htm
Why don’t total imports equal total exports for oilseeds and products?
There are two principle reasons for this: 1) Countries that do not import, export, or produce a commodity in a significant quantity are often not included in the database. However the sum of the imports and exports of low volume traders is noticeable, and causes imports to be different than exports. 2) When commodities with significant production in the southern hemisphere experience large changes in production or trade levels, the exports sometimes appear in one marketing year and the imports in another.
Define the different types of tobacco.
• Burley: Light air-cured tobacco cured under natural atmospheric conditions, usually without the use of supplementary heat (except to prevent damage in damp weather). Usually medium in body, light tan shaded toward red to reddish brown in color, mild in flavor. Used mainly in cigarette blends. Burley is desired because of its flavor and aroma. Burley is also used in pipe tobaccos and plug and twist chewing tobaccos.
• Flue-Cured: Tobacco cured under artificial atmospheric conditions by process of regulating the heat and ventilation without allowing smoke or fumes from the fuel to come in contact with the tobacco.
• Oriental: A type characterized by a strong aromatic leaf that is sun-cured (sometimes referred to as Turkish). The plant is usually small with a large number of short leaves. Oriental is used mainly in cigarettes.
Dark-Air & Sun-Cured: Dark tobacco types cured under atmospheric conditions, usually without the use of supplemental heat. The air-cured is shaded during curing, the sun-cured is not; usually medium to heavy in body and used in pipes, cigars, homemade and native cigarettes, snuff, and chewing tobacco. The only dark-air and sun-cured tobaccos to enter international trade in significant quantities are the cigar types.
• Cigarettes: Narrow tubes of cut tobacco enclosed in paper and designed for smoking. The four basic types of cigarettes are American blend, English, dark aromatic, and Turkish. American blends are composed of 45 to 50 percent flue-cured, 30 to 45 percent light air-cured 9usually burley) and 15 to 20 percent oriental. English cigarettes are made3 entirely from flue-cured. Dark aromatic types are made from dark air-cured tobacco and some oriental. Turkish types are made from oriental tobaccos.
Terms used in PS&D Online tables for leaf tobacco:
• Farm Sales Weight Production: Production weight of the cured, whole leaf at the farm level. FSW must be reported in order to obtain meaningful yields and production comparability on a world basis.
• Dry Weight Production: The actual weight of tobacco when redried and prepared for the manufacturing process. Tobacco is reduced to a dry weight basis before entering manufacturers’ stocks and international trade. DW is equal to FSW minus the loss of moisture in redrying process and losses from further grading, cleaning, transportation, etc. Losses in the United States vary from 2-23 percent, depending on the types with 10-12 percent average for major cigarette leaf types. However, loss factors in particular countries vary considerably, e.g., the loss may be higher if the stems are discarded rather than used in the manufacturing process or exported.
• Consumption: All tobacco (domestic and foreign) used by the domestic manufacturers within a reporting period. Includes discarded, destroyed, and unaccounted for. Dairy, Livestock and Poultry Answers
Why doesn’t PS&D Online’s world total for the livestock complex include every country in the world?
For the livestock complex the "world total" in PS&D Online is the sum of only those countries included in the USDA database, which are representative countries. The representative countries in the USDA database capture about 90 percent of world livestock trade. In USDA livestock publications, this sum is more correctly labeled as "selected country total", rather than "world total".
Why do PS&D Online’s historical data for EU livestock sometimes differ from published USDA data?
The USDA data published in FAS, Livestock & Poultry: World Markets & Trade, in some cases may not yet include Finland, Sweden, and Austria, which in 1996 were added to the EC-12 to make EU-15. The EU-15 group will have data through 1998, the new European Union 25 group (EU-25) will include data beginning in 1999. PS&D; Online includes all data in the USDA database for these countries in a complete EU-25 total.
To obtain USDA’s published data go to http://www.fas.usda.gov for the bi-annual FAS Livestock and Poultry circular publication or call Dairy, Livestock and Poultry Division, Foreign Agriculture Service, USDA (202-720-8031).
Livestock terms used in PS&D Online tables:
Red meat statistics in the PS&D Tables are reported on a carcass-weight-equivalent (CWE--1,000 metric tons) basis using local conversion factors.
Beginning Stocks as of January 1 = Ending Stocks of the previous year.
Cattle
• Dairy Cows: Number of bred heifers and females that have calved as of January 1. These include dairy breed cows and dual-purpose cows utilized for dairy.
• Beef Cows: Number of bred heifers and females that have calved as of January 1. Include beef animals and dual-purpose breeds that are used exclusively for beef.
• Total Cattle: All bovine animals, including dairy and beef cows, calves, bulls, etc. on January 1.
Swine
• Sows Inventory levels of bred gilts and female hogs that have given birth as of January 1.
Slaughter
Cattle
• Cow: The slaughter of female bovine animals more than 1 year old.
• Calf: The slaughter of bovine animals less than 1 year old.
• Other: The slaughter of male bovine animals over 1 year old.
• Total Slaughter: Cow + Calf + Other
Swine
• Sow: The slaughter of female hogs that have been bred at least once.
• Other: The slaughter of all swine, excluding sows.
• Total Slaughter: Sow + Other
Poultry terms used in PS&D Online tables:
Poultry meat is reported on a ready-to-cook (RTC) equivalent basis.
• Broiler Meat: Broilers usually are 3-5 pounds live weight and 6-8 weeks old. The terms broilers, fryers, and young chickens are interchangeable.
Production
• Live Animals: Animals born within the calendar year.
Meat: Meat yielded by slaughter of animals in that country. Excludes weight of live animals exported for breeding, feeding or immediate slaughter, but includes meat produced from live imported animals when slaughtered.
• Beginning Stocks as of January 1 = Ending Stocks of the previous year.
Dairy terms used in PS&D Online tables:
• Cheese: Does not include cottage cheese, other soft curd fresh cheese, or yogurt.
• Butter: A dairy product containing not less than 78 percent milk fat. Includes anhydrous milk fat (AFM). The use of butter in spreads (butter/margarine mixtures) are treated as a processing use of butter.
• Full Fat Dry Milk: Powder obtained by the removal of water from milk, containing more than 1.5 percent fat and no more than 5 percent moisture. Includes partly skimmed dry milk.
• Non-fat Dry Milk: Dried skim milk containing no more than 1.5 percent fat and 5 percent moisture (buttermilk powder should be included; whey powder is excluded). Excludes dried whole milk and partly skimmed milk with more than 1.5 percent fat content.
• No. of Milk Cows: Cows actually used for dairy purposes during the year. Does not include dry cows or heifers or buffalo cows.
Production
• Cows milk: Milk from cows excluding milk sucked by calves.
• Other milk: All other milk production (mainly from sheep, goats, and buffaloes). Milk sucked by young animals is excluded.
• Total milk: (Total Production = Cows Milk + Other Milk).
• TOTAL Supply = total Production.
Domestic Consumption
• Fluid use: Milk consumed domestically in the fresh, fluid state
• Factory use: Fluid milk that is processed into another form (i.e. butter, cheese, yogurt, NFDM, etc.)
• Feed use: Milk in the fluid state that is used for animal feed. Skim milk not included.
• Total: Total in-country consumption (Ending Stocks Yt = Beginning Stocks Yt+1). (Total Domestic consumption = Fluid Use + Factory Use + Feed Use).
Forest and Fishery Products Answers
More on Forest Products.
• Hardwood: Trees, or the wood of such trees, usually broadleaf. The term does not apply to the actual hardness of the wood, but the grouping of trees. The terms broadleaf and non-coniferous are often used to identify these trees.
• Logs: Large roundwood or cut lengths of trees with branches and roots removed, generally eight feet or more in length, and of sufficient diameter to economically convert to lumber or veneer. Usually 4" or more inside the bark at the small end.
• Lumber: A wood product manufactured from logs by sawing, resawing and usually planing, with all four sides sawn.
• Plywood: Also sometimes called veneer panels, blockboard and laminboard, plywood is a combination of two or more veneers glued together to form a panel that provides strength and rigidity. In general, the term refers to a sheet-like product made up of two or more veneers glued on either side of a core. This core may consist of veneer, lumber, particleboard, fiberboard, or rarely, of some other product. The grain of the core and each veneer layer are usually glued at right angles to one another. The two sides of plywood are termed face and back, and the species designation is determined by the face veneer (that of higher quality and value).
• Softwood: Trees, or the wood of such trees, having needle-like or scale-like leaves. Softwoods includes pines, firs, hemlocks, spruces, cedars, redwoods and other similar species. Softwood stands are found throughout the world. The term softwood applies to this group of trees and not to the actual hardness of the wood, although softwoods are usually softer and less dense than hardwoods. The term coniferous is often used to identify these trees.
• Temperate Hardwood: Hardwood trees native to temperate climates. These include species common to North America, Europe, China, Russia, Korea and Japan (e.g., ash, beech, birch, cherry, elm, hickory, maple, oak and walnut).
• Tropical Hardwood: Hardwood trees native to tropical climates. Tropical hardwoods commonly traded internationally include Apitong or Keruing, Kapur, Lauan (Philippine mahogany), Mahogany (Honduras and African), Meranti, Mersawa, Ramin, Sen, Seraya, and Teak.
• Veneer: Thin sheets of wood 6 mm (1/4 inch) or less in thickness. Veneer sheets are sliced or sawn from round or halved logs. Most veneer, particularly high quality veneer, is rotary-cut or sliced (peeled), either by turning a log against a knife (rotary-cut), or by drawing a log or portion of a log across a knife. For the purpose of this report, veneer reinforced or backed by a flexible material (e.g., plastic or cloth) is considered veneer.
• Wood Chips: Small wood particles, generally uniform in size and shape. Chips are generally produced from wood residues or as a byproduct of saw milling. The primary use is in the manufacture of wood pulp.
More on Fishery Products.
• Crab: Principal commercial species in the United States include King, Tanner, Dungeness, and Blue.
• Flatfish: Any of numerous species of bottom dwelling fish with characteristics of flat shape, side swimming, both eyes on one side. Principal commercial species include plaice, sole, flounder, halibut (both Pacific and Atlantic), and Greenland turbot.
• Groundfish: A broad term implying any of numerous species caught on or near the sea floor. Includes Atlantic and Pacific cod, hake, ocean perch, pollock, cusk, whiting, and haddock.
• Lobster: Two major commercial species are American (Maine) (species Homarus), and spiny lobsters (Panulirus).
• Roe: Fish eggs.
• Scallops: All PS&D data reported on scallops are in meat weight (excluding the shell).
• Surimi: Minced fish meat that has been washed to remove fat and waste material and mixed with cryoprotectants such as sorbitol and/or sugar to prolong shelf life. Usually further processed into imitation seafood products such as crab, lobster, or shrimp.
Define Fishery attributes.
• Canned: Fish, shellfish, or other aquatic animals packed in cans or other containers that are hermetically sealed and heat sterilized.
• Eviscerate: To remove the viscera, or entrails.
• Fillet: A portion of flesh taken from either side of a fish cut parallel to the central bones of the fish. The main bones, fins, and belly flaps are usually removed.
Headed and Gutted (H&G): Fish prepared for marketing by removal of head (H&G) and internal (H&G) organs.
Grain and Feed Answers
Why doesn’t world and foreign grain consumption sum correctly from the regional totals?
World and foreign grain consumption published in the monthly World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE) and FAS grain circular have been adjusted by the difference between imports and exports on the assumption that trade at the world level should balance. Regional and country totals however, are not adjusted.
To obtain the most recent 5 years of USDA’s adjusted world grain consumption data, go to http:\\www.fas.usda.gov for the FAS grain circular publication or call Grain Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA (202-720-6219).
Grain data published in the monthly: WAOB, World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE) for supply and use variables other than trade are the same as the USDA data published in the FAS grain circular. But WASDE’s grain trade data differs because it is aggregated on the local marketing year basis rather than the international trade year (see below for details on local and international trade years).
More on Grain and Feed commodities.
• All Wheat: The threshed, dry seeds of a cereal (genus TRITICUM) cultivated for human consumption in the milled form of flour used for bread, pastries, etc., and used as an animal feed. (includes durum wheat)
• Mixed Grain: The threshed, dry seeds of any combination of wheat, barley, corn, oats, rye, sorghum grown and harvested in the same field.
• Coarse Grains: The total of rye, barley, oats, corn, sorghum, millet, mixed grains.
• Rice: The threshed seeds of all types of rice (excludes wild) gathered in the dry, unprocessed state upon plant maturity. All rice statistics are shown on a milled basis, except for production, which is provided on both a milled and rough basis.
Define Grain and Feed attributes.
• Beginning Stocks: The quantity of unprocessed, dry seeds, in metric tons, held in all known storage facilities, or in transit to those facilities, at the beginning of the specified, 12-month, marketing year period, which normally corresponds to a local crop/marketing year. (Beginning Stocks Yt = Ending Stocks Y t-1).
Imports
• Local Marketing Year: The quantity of a commodity declared upon entry by a country, usually at specified prices/terms, from a foreign seller during a specified 12-month period corresponding to that country's marketing year, and measured in metric tons. For wheat, USDA estimates include grain, flour, and products in grain-equivalence. For rice, they include paddy, brown, and milled rice in milled-equivalence.
• July/June Year: Standard international trade year used by USDA to aggregate world imports of wheat, flour and products trade on a J/J basis, regardless of the local marketing year period.
October/September Year: Standard international trade year used by USDA to aggregate world imports of all coarse grains on a O/S basis, regardless of the local marketing year period.
• Calendar Year: Standard international trade year used by USDA to aggregate world imports of rice on a calendar year basis, regardless of the local marketing year period.
Imports from the United States: Used by USDA to determine U.S. market share on a standard international trade year.
• Total Supply: Beginning Stocks + Production + Total Imports
Exports
• Local Marketing Year: The quantity of a commodity declared upon exit from a country during a specified 12-month period corresponding to that country's marketing year, and measured in metric tons. For wheat, USDA estimates include grain, flour, and products in grain-equivalence. For rice, they include paddy, brown, and milled rice in milled-equivalence.
• July/June Year: Standard international trade year used by USDA to aggregate world exports of wheat, flour and products trade on a J/J basis, regardless of the local marketing year period.
October/September Year: Standard international trade year used by USDA to aggregate world exports of all coarse grains on a O/S basis, regardless of the local marketing year period.
• Calendar Year: Standard international trade year used by USDA to aggregate world exports of rice on a calendar year basis, regardless of the local marketing year period.
Domestic Consumption
• Feed: The quantity of dry grain consumed by animals, as measured in metric tons, during the specified 12-month marketing year period.
• Non-feed: The quantity of dry grain utilized for seed, industrial purposes and/or human consumption, in metric tons, in the specified 12-month marketing year period.
• Total Domestic Consumption: Feed + Non-feed
• Ending Stocks: The quantity of unprocessed, dry seeds, in metric tons, held in all known storage facilities or in transit to those facilities, at the end of the specified 12-month marketing year period. (Ending Stocks Yt = Beginning Stocks Yt+1).
• Total Distribution: Total Exports + Total Domestic Consumption + Ending Stocks
Special Note on PS&D Terms Used for Rice:
The supply and demand balance is presented on a milled-equivalent basis. The exception to this is production, which is provided on both a milled and a rough (unprocessed) basis.
Production
• Rough: The measure of the total output of the rice, in metric tons, which has been threshed but not yet milled.
• Milled: The measure of the total output of rice at the end of the harvest, measured in metric tons, which has undergone the process of removal of the husk and bran components of the seed (this quantity includes broken rice).
• Conversion Factor: The fraction by which the measure of rough production is multiplied in order to yield the corresponding measure of quantity produced on a milled basis. This value varies by country, but should always include broken rice.
Horticultural and Tropical Products Answers
Why doesn’t PS&D Online’s world total for horticultural products include every country in the world?
For horticultural products the "world total" in PS&D Online is the sum of only those countries included in the USDA database, which are representative countries. The sum is more correctly labeled as "selected country total," rather than "world total."
What types of tree nuts are covered in the PS&D Online tables?
• Almonds: Sweet almonds produced for human consumption. Bitter almonds not included. Use shelled basis.
• Walnuts: Use in-shell basis.
• Hazelnuts (filberts): Use in-shell basis.
• Pistachios: Use in-shell basis.
• Macadamia Nuts: Use wet-in-shell basis—that is husked but not dried.
• Pecans: Use in-shell basis.
Terms used in PS&D Online tables for fresh fruits, asparagus, and avocados.
The following attributes are used for asparagus, avocados, and fresh fruits such as apples, apricots, cherries (sweet and sour), citrus, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, oranges, peaches and nectarines, pears, plums, table grapes, and tangerines.
• Commercial Production: Quantity of production used by wholesalers, retailers, and other commercial traders.
• Non-commercial Production: Quantity of production that is utilized in the home, community, or other than commercial.
• Total Production: Commercial + Non-commercial.
• Waste & Losses: Includes fruit not harvested and harvested fruit not sold or utilized.
Withdrawals From Market: Government purchases of fruit for non-commercial utilization, fresh utilization or processed utilization.
Total Domestic Consumption: Fresh Sales + Exports + Processed + Waste & Losses + Withdrawals from market.
Terms used in PS&D Online tables for other horticultural and tropical products.
Coffee
• Arabica Production: Production of coffee of the species "coffee arabica."
• Robusta Production: Production of coffee of the species "coffee robusta."
• Other Production: Production of coffee of other species notably "coffee liberica."
• Total Production: Arabica + Robusta + Other.
• TOTAL Supply: Beginning Stocks + Total Production + Total Imports.
Canned Sweet Corn
• Production Gross Weight: Commercial production of canned corn (total weight of product, including water used for processing).
• Production Net Weight: Net commercial production of canned corn (net weight of product, not including water used for processing).
Canned Fruits and Juices
• Delivery To Processors: Raw fruit accepted by canneries for processing reported in thousand metric tons gross weight.
Sugar, Centrifugal
• Sugar (including Khandsari) produced by the centrifugal process, raw value basis.
• Beet Sugar Production: Quantity, in metric tons, raw value basis, of sugar produced from sugar beets during the local crop year shown.
• Cane Sugar Production: Quantity, in metric tons, raw value basis, of sugar produced from sugarcane during the local crop year shown.
• Total Production: Beet + Cane.
• Exports: Quantity, raw basis, of all sugar legally exported during the reporting period.
• Domestic Consumption: Total statistical disappearance of sugar within the country, including sugar used for the manufacture of sugar-containing products for exports, sugar used in free trade zones, and sugar that is exported illegally.
Last Updated: May 17, 2002