| United States Department of Agriculture |
| Foreign Agricultural Service |
| Circular Series FHORT 05-99 |
| May 1999 |
Trade and U.S. Export
Opportunities
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World
Horticultural Trade and U.S. Export Opportunities |
China has risen as a major world apple juice (AJ) producer and has become a significant supplier to the U.S. market. Last season (1997/98), China supplied 12 percent of total U.S. apple juice imports. In 1993/94, Chinese apple juice accounted for less than one percent of the U.S. import market. Lower Chinese AJ prices have been a decisive factor in increasing China’s AJ share in the U.S. market. With the help of foreign firms supplying the latest processing technology, China’s share is expected to continue growing. In response to concerns over increased AJ imports, the U.S. apple industry is pursuing an antidumping case with the U.S. Department of Commerce against foreign suppliers of low-cost apple juice concentrate.
U.S. AJ imports in 1998/99 are forecast at 210,000 tons, up 13 percent from last season, based on higher imports to date. U.S. AJ imports, which are mostly concentrated non-frozen, totaled 118,000 tons, 70/71 degrees brix equivalent, for the period July 1998 through January 1999, up 17 percent from the same period last season. The increase mainly reflects a continued climb in imports from China, which are running more than 250 percent ahead of last season to date.
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