Total agricultural exports for the 2012 fiscal year are forecast at $134.5 billion, which is $3.5 billion more than what the ERS predicted in February. Horticultural product exports, which consist of tree nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables and processed fruits and vegetables, accounted for part of that forecast jump with an upward revision of $500 million. That brings the total projected value of horticultural exports to $28.5 billion for the 2012 fiscal year.
The other products which make up total agricultural exports include grains, feed, oilseeds, livestock, poultry, dairy and cotton.
Much of the the horticultural sector's upward revision is due to strong demand for almonds. Tree nuts were revised by $500 million to $6.2 billion thanks mostly to strong demand from Europe, China and Hong Kong, which is fed by a record domestic almond crop. The forecast for fresh fruits and vegetables remained unchanged at $6.9 million.
Though the value of total imports climbed by $1 billion since February to $107.5 billion, that was in spite of a decline in the projected value of horticultural imports. But even though the value of horticultural product imports dropped by $800 million, most of that was due to a downward revision to the anticipated value of processed fruits.