U. S. Horticultural Trade Situation

 

U.S. Horticultural Exports

 

U.S. Horticultural Exports Remain Steady

 

U.S. horticultural exports in calendar year (CY) 1999 reached $10.23 billion, virtually unchanged from the previous year. The clear export winners in CY 1999 were fresh fruits (excluding citrus) and juices. Exports of fresh fruit, excluding citrus, grew 13 percent to $1.4 billion in CY 1999. In this category, avocados, cherries, peaches, and nectarines saw the biggest jumps. Avocado exports were up 38 percent to over $7.5 million. Most of the growth went to Europe and Korea. Fresh cherries, grapes, and kiwifruit also saw significant increases in exports, both in terms of volume and dollar value. Most of the increase in cherry exports went to Japan. Taiwan was responsible for almost all the export growth in peaches and nectarines last year. Increased Asian demand was also responsible for the increase in exports of grapes and kiwifruit.

 

Fruit and vegetable juices reached a record $784 million. Grapefruit juice led this growth with a 41 percent rise in value and a 103 percent rise in volume. The EU and Japan were primarily responsible for the growth in grapefruit juice exports. Other juices, including fresh squeezed orange juice, also performed very well, with an increase in value and volume of 12 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

 

Citrus exports in CY 1999 declined by close to $174 million or 27 percent, compared to the previous year. Although grapefruit saw a rise of 13.4 percent, fresh orange exports fell by 56 percent due to the untimely freeze in California in December 1998. As the crop recovers from the freeze, citrus exports are expected to rebound in 2000.

Dehydrated potatoes saw the biggest increase of all individual horticultural exports. Exports increased 91 percent in value to reach $82 million and rose 202 percent in volume to nearly 133,000 metric tons. At the same time, fresh vegetable exports reached a record $1.1 billion in CY 1999.

U.S. wine exports rose for the fourteenth consecutive year. In CY 1999, wine exports rose by $9 million to $540.9 million. The largest export gains were to 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). The value of U.S. beer exports continued to decline in 1999. Beer exports dropped by $51 million to $309 million, a 14 percent decrease. Since 1995, the value of beer exports has dropped by 49 percent.

 

Dried fruit exports grew by nearly $4 million in CY 1999. Raisin and prune exports fell slightly but other dried fruit exports rose over 20 percent. Overall, the value of dried fruit exports reached $384 million.

 

All tree nut exports fell except shelled walnuts, which saw a $4.5 million increase. The tree nut category fell nearly $185 million, with almonds and pistachios experiencing double digit drops. Record-breaking production of almonds by the major producers, including the United States, resulted in an oversupply of almonds and depressed prices.

 

Canned and prepared fruit and vegetable exports also fell last year. Of canned vegetables, tomato paste fell the most by $10 million, or 13 percent. Canned peaches and pineapples both fell significantly. Canned pineapples fell the most, by 40 percent, experiencing a loss of almost $2 million. Canned peach exports fell by almost $4 million to $20 million in CY 1999. Cherries were the only strong performers in the canned and prepared fruit category. Canned tart cherry and maraschino cherry exports grew by 12 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

 

Frozen fruit exports fell by 3 percent last year to $88.8 million. Frozen blueberry exports fell $10.5 million, a 36 percent drop, and frozen strawberries fell by $3 million. Other frozen fruit balanced out the category by growing almost $11 million or 39 percent.

 

U.S. Horticultural Imports

 

Horticultural Imports Reach a New Record in CY 1999

 

U.S. horticultural imports reached a record $16 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year. Beer and bananas remained the largest single import products in CY 1999, with imports valued at $1.9 billion for beer and at a little over $1 billion for bananas. Sixty-two percent of banana imports came from Costa Rica and Ecuador.

 

Fresh fruits comprised 19 percent of total horticultural imports in CY 1999, with imports valued at $3.1 billion. Within this category, fresh pear and apple imports showed the greatest increase in value from the previous year. Pear imports rose 66 percent while apple imports rose 46 percent in CY 1999. New Zealand supplied 44 percent of fresh apple imports, while Chile and Argentina supplied 69 percent of fresh pear imports.

 

Wine imports comprised 14 percent of the total value of horticultural imports. In CY 1999, the U.S. imported $2.2 billion in wine, up 17 percent from the previous year. From this category, red wine, valued at $957 million, remained the most popular wine import in 1999 while sparkling wine imports reached $583 million, a 45 percent increase from 1998.

 

U.S. imports of fresh vegetables fell 6 percent in CY 1999 to $2 billion. Fresh vegetables comprised 12 percent of total horticultural imports in CY 1999 compared to 15 percent the previous year. The largest decrease in the fresh vegetable category was imports of fresh tomatoes which fell by 9 percent in CY 1999. Tomato imports during this period were valued at $689 million and made up 34 percent of fresh vegetable imports in CY 1999. With sales valued at $490 million, Mexico remained the largest supplier of fresh tomatoes to the U.S. market.

 

Overall, the United States had a $6 billion trade deficit in horticultural products in CY 1999, up 37 percent from the previous year.

 

(The FAS Attache Report search engine contains reports from all over the world on more than 10 horticultural products. For more information on horticultural production and trade visit the H&TP website at http:// www.fas.usda.gov/htp. For further information on this article, contact Karina Ramos or Clarissa Valdivia at 202-720–6590)

Last modified: Thursday, April 06, 2000