In the production of many farm commodities the United States ranks among the world's top producing countries.

There will be new and larger markets for farm commodities and manufactured goods in China.

And some farm commodities that leapt in 1993 fell back in 1994, with corn down almost 25 percent.

Despite the gain, the department's "prices received" index for farm commodities was 1.3 percent lower than a year earlier.

Still, prices of farm commodities across the board were up 6.7 percent from a year ago.

Hardest hit were farm commodities such as wheat, cotton, tobacco, and lumber.

Drought may spike prices for farm commodities in 2008.

Similarly, he said, "The long-term outlook for farm commodities is pretty good."

Nonetheless, a strong demand in farm commodities has helped the Argentine economy bounce back over recent years.

Among the basic farm commodities that continued to advance was corn, by far the nation's biggest crop.