Tariff impacts weigh on hay exports, dim market outlook
challenges,” the agricultural lender said. Most hay exports are compacted and bound into smaller bales for shipment. To meet rising demand from China—which accounted for 30% of total U.S. forage exports last year—hay exporters have in- creased production of compressed hay during the past decade. But tariffs now threaten this trade, Farm Credit said. Before the U.S. and China called a 90-day truce last month, Trump imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, and China re- sponded with 125% tariffs on American
goods. That effectively halted all hay ship- ments to China, said Gerard Irungaray, an owner of Imperial County-based Triple I Press, which exports hay. “Their end user can only pay so much,” he said. When tariffs are imposed, exporters oftentimes would be forced to lower their price to make it more palatable for buyers, but at 125%, “we can’t drop our price that much,” Irungaray said. With the 90-day pause, the U.S. has
By Ching Lee Hay producers have already faced fall- ing prices for the forage in recent years, and impacts of President Trump’s tariff policies add new pressures and market disruptions that could further dampen the sector’s outlook. Hay supplies have rebounded from
levels during the drought, contributing to lower prices. Though strong domestic de- mand has kept California hay prices steady so far this year, export activity has been limited, according to a report last month by AgWest Farm Credit. “If tariffs continue to disrupt trade, Western exporters could face significant
See HAY, Page 16
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