Agricultural exports swell to $40 billion, US reports

US agricultural exports surged to a record $40.5 billion in 1980, an increase of 27 percent from last year, the Agriculture Department said. The 1980 fiscal year was the 11th successive year that farm exports broke the previous record.Despite the partial grain embargo imposed against the Soviet Union after its intervention in Afghanistan, total agricultural exports advanced sharply, partly because of higher shipments to Mexico and China. The Agriculture Department predicted that farm exports could climb even higher in 1981, especially with world grain supplies expected to be tight.