Posts Tagged “U.S. fruit imports”
The value of U.S. imports of fruit soared ahead by 17% in the year ending April compared with the same period a year ago, according to new trade data from the USDA.
The agency reports U.S. imports of fresh/frozen fruit for the period from May 2021 through April 2022 totaled $18.72 billion, up 17% compared with imports of $16.03 billion in the same period a year ago and 24% higher than $15.08 billion two years ago.
By commodity, U.S. imports of fresh fruit from May 2021 to April 2022, with a percent change from a year ago:
- Berries (excluding strawberries): $4.05 billion, up 19%
- Avocados: $3.32 billion, up 35%
- Bananas/plantains: $2.45 billion, up 1%
- Grapes: $2.04 billion, up 16%
- Citrus: $1.84 billion, up 25%
- Strawberries: $1.4 billion, up 8%
- Pineapples: $803 million, 12%
- Mangoes: $734.9 million, up 7%
- Melons: $676.6 million, up 10%
- Kiwifruit: $214.5 million, up 28%
- Apples: 168.65 million, up 5%
- Pears: $111.8 million, up 9%
- Peaches: $65.8 million, no change
- Plums: $41.5 million, up 2%
U.S. total fruit imports by value soared by a quarter to a new record over January and February this year, with fresh, frozen and processed categories all seeing double-digit growth.
USDA data shows imports over the two months rose by 23 percent year-on-year to $4.9 billion.
In the previous four years over the same two months, the import value had always totalled between $3.7 billion and $4 billion.
However, the import volume did not rise at the same pace as the value, growing by just 7 percent year-on-year. But they still hit a record of 2.6 million tons.
Looking at the value, the ‘other fruit category’ – which is by far the largest and includes avocados, berries and bananas – rose by 19 percent to $2.5 billion. The rise was driven primarily by avocados and blueberries.
The citrus category saw the biggest growth, almost doubling to $253 million. That increase was driven by mandarins and limes.
The other categories listed by the USDA – deciduous, juices, processed, frozen, melons, dried and prepared – all experiencing growth ranging from the mid-teens to the mid-twenties.
Of the top-five supplying countries, import growth was largest from Mexico and Peru – at 27 percent each. Next was Chile, up 14 percent, Guatemala, up 11 percent, and Costa Rica, up 6 percent.
Total U.S. fruit imports rose by 9 percent last February compared to February 2020 and were largely driven by fresh berries.
USDA figures show the growth in fruit imports – which includes fresh, frozen, processed and juice – at $2 billion, came amid strong increases in fresh strawberries and blueberries and was partially offset by a big drop in avocado imports.
Strawberries rose by 23 percent to $208 million, with Mexico supplying almost all the volumes.
Imports of conventional blueberries saw an increase of 63 percent to $140 million, with the U.S.’s three main supplying countries all showing big increases. Imports from Chile rose by 33 percent to $75 million, and from Mexico and Peru they slightly more than doubled to $52 million and $13 million respectively.
Organic blueberry imports also showed significant growth, rising by 69 percent to $61 million.
The two other berry categories also performed well. Raspberry imports grew by 30 percent to 90 million, while blackberry imports rose by 9 percent to 44 million. In both cases, Mexico was virtually the sole supplier.
Other double-digit increases came in mango and pineapple imports, which rose by 21 and 19 percent respectively to total $48 million each. Limes also rose by 73 percent to $45 million.
There was a significant drop in avocado imports, which fell by 22 percent to 174 million, with almost all supplies coming from Mexico. Table grape imports saw a small drop of 4 percent to $288 million, with the decrease driven by Chile and partially offset by growth from Peru.
Outside of the fresh fruits, total U.S. fruit imports were also spurred on by a 29 percent increase in fruit juices to $182 million and a 31 percent rise in frozen fruit to $94 million.
The fruit import rise in February follows a slower month in January when imports saw a slight dip of percent, USDA data shows.
In 2020, U.S. fruit import growth ground to a halt.
U.S. fruit imports into the U.S. for 2020 lost a decade of momentum, although there were gains for fresh citrus and frozen fruit, according to new USDA data.
Imports under the ‘Fruits and Preparations’ category – which includes all fresh, frozen and processed fruit – rose marginally to $19.9 billion in 2020 from $19.8 billion in 2019.
The minor increase comes in contrast to the impressive and steady annual growth the category has witnessed since 2010, when imports were registered at $10.4 billion.
The largest category, ‘Other Fresh Fruit’ – which includes avocados, bananas, and berries – held steady at $10.1 billion. Avocados dropped by 12 percent to $2.3 billion, bananas dropped by 2 percent to $1.9 billion, blueberries fell by 5 percent to $982 million, and strawberries declined by 2 percent to $819 million.
Deciduous fruit imports also remained flat at $2.2 billion. Table grapes rose by 4 percent to $1.7 billion, but apples fell by 18 percent to $110 million.
Meanwhile, fruit juices fell by 13 percent to $1.8 billion and processed fruit rose by 2 percent to $1.8 billion.
Citrus imports rose by 11 percent to $1.4 billion, driven mainly by growth in mandarins and to a lesser extent in oranges.
Frozen fruit rose by 26 percent to $1.1 billion, fresh melons fell by 12 percent to $607 million, while dried fruit rose by 10 percent to $520 million, and prepared fruit grew by 14 percent to $504 million.
Looking at the different supplying countries across the total fruit category, imports from Mexico and Chile both fell by 3 percent to $8.2 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively.
Peru was the biggest winner of the top five countries, with imports into the U.S. growing by 17 percent to $1.7 billion. Meanwhile, imports from Guatemala fell by 2 percent to $1.9 billion, while from Costa Rica they rose by 2 percent to $1.1 billion.