China bought more than $10 billion in US farm goods in the first six months of the fiscal year to become the country's No 1 agricultural export market, an official said.

In an interview with Reuters, USDA secretary Tom Vilsack said farm exports during the first half of fiscal 2010 totaled $59 billion, "the best six months agricultural trade has had."

With the strong start, the US Department of Agriculture will probably raise its forecast of sales for the year, he said.

The forecast now is $100 billion for total US agriculture exports for the fiscal year ending September 30, up from the recession-hit $98 billion tallied in 2009 and second to the record $115 billion of 2008. USDA will update its export forecast on May 27.

"One of the factors is that China is our top market in the first six months, well over $10 billion," said Vilsack. A USDA official said the exact figure was $10.6 billion.

China is the world's largest importer of cotton and soybeans. It roiled the grain market with a purchase of 369,000 tonnes of US corn on May 13, its largest purchase since 2001, and creating hopes of steady, large sales to Beijing.

The world's most populous nation and a dynamic economy, China has shot to prominence as a US farm export market over the past few years. At the start of the decade it ranked seventh, just behind Taiwan and buying less than $2 billion a year. By 2004 it was No 5 with purchases of $6 billion, and it would nearly double that figure this year.

Traders and analysts said the surge in agriculture exports was primarily to meet demand from feedmakers in China. Others suspect the Chinese government may be looking to boost its stockpiles. - Reuters