Imports have become increasingly essential in ensuring the year-round availability of fresh fruit and vegetables in the United States. Since the transition to tariff- and quota-free trade under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was completed in 2008, imports of fresh produce have grown steadily with few interruptions.
Between 2007 and 2023, the share of fresh fruit and vegetable availability in the U.S. supplied by imports increased significantly. Fresh fruit imports rose from 50 percent to 59 percent of total availability, while fresh vegetable imports, excluding potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms, increased from 20 percent to 35 percent. The import share expanded by more than 20 percentage points for several key crops, including asparagus, avocados, bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, raspberries, snap beans, and tomatoes. However, a year-to-year decline in blueberry and orange imports contributed to a slight decrease in the share of fresh fruit availability supplied by imports from 2022 to 2023.
The implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on July 1, 2020, continued the market access provisions for fruit and vegetable trade that had been established under NAFTA. In 2023, Mexico remained the dominant supplier of fresh produce to the U.S., accounting for 51 percent of fresh fruit imports and 69 percent of fresh vegetable imports in terms of value. Canada followed, supplying 2 percent of fresh fruit imports and 20 percent of fresh vegetable imports.
The increasing reliance on imports reflects broader trends in agricultural trade and consumer demand for fresh produce throughout the year. The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) provides detailed data on these trends through its Fruit and Tree Nuts Data and Vegetables and Pulses Data reports.
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