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| Horticultural & Tropical Products Division | Return to the H&TP Home Page |
March 06, 2000
Value of US Stone Fruit Exports Reaches Record Level in 1999: US stone fruit exports bounced back in calendar year 1999 to register a record value of $312 million. The volume of US stone fruit exports in 1999 reached 206,900 metric tons, the second largest level on record. Adequate supplies of good quality fruit and more moderate prices were behind the strong performance. Peaches and nectarines accounted for about 45 percent of the volume of US stone fruit exports in 1999, followed by plums and prunes at about 30 percent, cherries at 20 percent, and apricots at 5 percent. However, in value terms, cherries led the way, accounting for a 50-percent share. Canada, Taiwan, and Mexico are the major markets for US stone fruit. About half the volume of US peach and nectarine exports go to Canada, while Japan remains the dominant market for US cherries.
US Exports of Tropical and Sugar Related Products Post Gain in 1999: US exports of tropical and related products, plus sugar and related products, totaled $2.65 billion in CY 1999, an increase of 2.3 percent from the previous year’s level and down less than 1 percent from the record in 1997. Almost all of the major groupings showed value increases from 1998: Cocoa and cocoa products, up 12 percent to $436.4 million; coffee and coffee products, up 4.2 percent to $241.6 million; essential oils up 0.5 percent to $531.2 million; ginseng up 6 percent to $36.9 million; spices up 2.3 percent to $110.4 million; tea (including herbal tea) up 36 percent to $73.1 million. The total for Sugar Confectionery declined only slightly (less than 1 percent) to $239.3 million. Canada remains the major market for these groups; while exports to Mexico continued to grow.
US Wine Exports Hit 14th Consecutive Record-Breaking Year in 1999: Exports of US wine and wine products (including cider, fermented beverages, and must) reached a new record in 1999 of $540.9 million, up 2 percent from 1998. Bottled grape wine accounted for 78 percent of the total by value. The export base for US wine and wine products is continuing to expand. In 1999, the top export markets were the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. Japan slipped back into third place, due to large stocks going into 1999. The most impressive gains were South Korea at $2.7 million (up 128 percent), China at $2 million (up 247 percent), and Malaysia at $2.4 million (up 80 percent). Robust foreign demand, market promotion efforts, recovering international economies, and reports of favorable health effects associated with moderate wine consumption have all fueled US wine export growth.
Not-From-Concentrate Orange Juice Exports Expand; US Dominates Global Market : US exports of not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice pulled even with frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) exports in volume terms for the first time in the 1998/99 marketing year, at roughly 53,000 tons. US NFC exports first surpassed FCOJ in value terms in 1997/98 and were 25 percent greater in 1998/99. NFC exports have increased by more than 500 percent over the past 10 years, while FCOJ exports have stagnated. The US holds about 70 percent of the growing world NFC market, but less than 10 percent of the stagnating FCOJ market. NFC exports reached $173 million in 1998/99, with Canada and the European Union as the top markets. As the global leaders in production and quality, US exporters are expected to continue to take advantage of consumer preference for the freshest and highest quality orange juice.
World Sugar Market Remains Weighed Down by Overproduction: The world raw sugar market continues to lie in the doldrums as high production in all the major producing countries depresses the market. The Contract #11, raw sugar futures price remains below the psychologically important 5 cents/lb level, at about 4.65 cents/lb. The key world exporters, Brazil, Thailand, and the European Union are all pricing large volumes against the March, May, and July contracts, pushing prices into record low territories. Key factors restraining purchasing have been rising market protection measures in Indonesia and Russia, a larger than expected cane crop in India, and very slow offtake from Russia due to large carry-over stocks. The current price is lower than the cost of production in every country and is causing a severe debt crisis in the global sugar industry. Additionally, it remains to be seen if the major producers will respond to the current overproduction and high stocks in the upcoming 2000/01 campaign.
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