We polled you post-election on how you expect the property tycoon’s actions as US president will play out for feedstuffs trade, manufacturing and logistics and we also asked you what the likely impact on commodity prices would be.
Some 50% of our respondents said the overall impact of the election result will be negative for the American feed manufacturing sector; however, 33% of those polled were positive about the prospects for US feed production under Trump.
One respondent said: “Trump is not concerned with the agricultural sector. His primary focus is oil (not soybeans!) and coal. [The] potential impact will be negative.”
But another reader noted: “Common sense, scientific reasoning, and oversight - [these will] return to all government agencies [and this factor] will be a big asset to our industry.”
And “A breath of fresh air,” was another pro-Trump response posted.
Trade, exports
Recently we saw trade groups like the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) express hope that pledges Trump has made about cutting back on regulation to ease burdens on US businesses will be realized.
One reader agreed: “Short-term, there may be negative effects but regulation easing will be [to] the benefit of agriculture long term.”
But on the issue of trade, the survey participants were downbeat, with again 50% of respondents seeing a negative outcome for feed exports, seemingly wary of the stance the US president-elect took on the campaign trail in relation to pacts like NAFTA and TPP.
A contributor to our poll said: “Abandoning our efforts to develop a global economy by scrapping trade agreements and implementing tariffs on imported goods will not achieve what Trump and his supporters want to see happen. My sincere hope is that this rhetoric will tone down significantly and nothing is done to trigger a global trade war.”
And another respondent opined: “No more free trade deals - protectionism will start.”
Nevertheless, nearly 29% of those who took part in our poll said they were positive about feed exports under a Trump presidency.
Global feed industry
In terms of the global feed industry impact, reader feedback was less clear cut.
One respondent said: “The impact will depend on what he actually does. If he does what he has said he will do, I expect the US will become isolated in trade terms and that will be bad for the US feed industry but good for the global one.”
Some 31% of contributors expect the international feed sector to not fare well as a result of Trump's tenure.
Soy, corn and wheat prices
The majority of the respondents said they believe a Trump presidency will cause a hike in the price of feed raw materials.
They also anticipate that feed manufacturing and logistics costs will increase.
