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Exports
Imports
Exports
Over the past several years, foreign sales have slowly increased in importance within U.S. vegetable and melon markets. Exports as a share of total U.S. vegetable supplies averaged 9 percent during 2000-07, up from 7 percent during 1990-97. After a period of stagnation earlier this decade, export share of supply began to creep higher, due in part to the weaker U.S. dollar. The top vegetables in terms of export value are potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and sweet corn. The share of supply exported varies substantially among commodities, with a few of the most export-dependent vegetables during 2000-07 being:
- Onions for dehydration, 57 percent of supply;
- Dry edible peas and lentils, 45 percent;
- Fresh-market cauliflower, 28 percent;
- Fresh-market broccoli, 17 percent;
- Sweet corn for canning, 17 percent.
U.S. vegetable and melon export growth earlier this decade appears to have been hindered by the strong U.S. dollar, increased competition from other countries (e.g. China, European Union nations), slow economic growth in places such as Japan (a major market), and market access issues (high tariffs, quotas, and nonscience-based sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions) in some countries.
Canada, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, and South Korea are the top five destinations for U.S. vegetable and melon exports. Export demand has been growing, particularly Canada's, the largest foreign buyer of U.S. vegetables and melons. Increased overseas promotion for some U.S. vegetables through efforts such as the Market Access Program may have helped boost foreign sales.
Fresh Vegetables
Exports of fresh-market vegetables and melons account for about 7 percent of available supplies. In value terms, fresh-market vegetables and melons (excluding potatoes) claimed the largest share of total vegetable exports, averaging about $1.6 billion annually over the past 5 years. There is a discernable seasonal pattern to fresh exports, with volume peaking in the spring and reaching a low during the summer months. In addition to the weather, this pattern is largely influenced by demand from Canada, the leading foreign market for U.S. exports of fresh vegetables and melons. Canada's vegetable imports are lowest during their summer growing season and peak in the spring when their supplies of storage-type vegetables are exhausted and before their own growing season has begun.
Among fresh vegetables, lettuce (all types) is the largest fresh export ($409 million in 2007), but lettuce also enjoys relatively strong domestic demand. The same is true for tomatoes, the second-largest fresh export ($191 million). Exports remove 7 percent of domestic supply of all lettuce and nearly 6 percent of fresh tomatoes. This percentage has slowly drifted lower over the past three decades as growth in domestic consumption has exceeded that of export volume.
Frozen Vegetables
Export demand for U.S. frozen vegetables (including potatoes) has increased substantially during the past decade. Exports accounted for 10 percent of U.S. frozen vegetable supplies during 2000-07, compared with 7 percent during 1990-97. In 2007, U.S. frozen vegetable exports (including potatoes) totaled about 4 billion pounds (fresh-weight basis), with a value of $808 million. Potato products (primarily french fries) account for about three-fourths of frozen vegetable export volume. Until stabilizing in the early 2000s, frozen potato exports had been rising strongly for many years, fueled by the expansion of U.S. fast-food establishments overseas, particularly in Asian countries. Excluding potatoes, frozen vegetable exports (fresh-weight basis) averaged 880 million pounds annually during 2000-07, up 15 percent from 1990-97.
Japan is the largest export market for U.S. frozen vegetables, accounting for 40 percent of the annual value during 2000-07. Other important markets include Canada (15 percent), Mexico (10 percent), China (6 percent), and South Korea (4 percent). After bottoming out in 2003, U.S. frozen vegetable exports to Japan have trended upward due to a combination of economic recovery in Japan, the weakening U.S. dollar, and less competition from other exporting nations. The value of U.S. frozen vegetable exports to Japan is one-third greater than it was during 1990-97, despite loss of market share to countries such as Canada, China, Taiwan, and New Zealand. French fried potatoes and sweet corn account for the majority of the U.S. frozen vegetables exported to Japan.
Canned Vegetables
During 2000-07, exports of canned vegetables accounted for about 8 percent of available supplies, up from 6 percent during 1990-97. This increased export share partly reflects the efforts of vegetable canners to expand markets overseas to compensate for stagnant or declining domestic demand. U.S. exports of all canned vegetables averaged $0.5 billion annually during 2000-07. Tomato sauce, sweet corn, and tomato paste are the top three canned vegetable exports, accounting for about two-thirds of annual canned export value.
Canada is the leading export market for U.S. canned vegetables, accounting for 44 percent of the value of U.S. canned vegetable exports during 2000-07, up from 34 percent during 1990-97. Japan is the second-largest U.S. market, with 13 percent of canned export value, down from 18 percent a decade earlier. Mexico (9 percent), South Korea (6 percent), and Taiwan (3 percent) round out the top five foreign markets.
Imports
In terms of value, the U.S. received 45 percent of all vegetable, melon, and pulse (dry bean, dry pea, and lentil) imports from Mexico during 2000-07, with the majority being fresh-market vegetables and frozen products. Canada is the second-leading foreign supplier, with about 24 percent of the U.S. import market. Because of obvious transportation advantages, Mexico and Canada have historically been the top two suppliers. Rounding out the top five import sources during the first 8 years of the 2000s are Spain (5 percent), China (4 percent), and Peru (3 percent). China supplies products such as mushrooms, dried vegetables (excluding mushrooms, garlic, and pulses), water chestnuts, garlic, and bamboo shoots.
In terms of value, fresh vegetables and melons account for 59 percent of annual vegetable imports. There is a definite seasonal pattern to fresh vegetable imports, with two-thirds of import volume arriving between December and May when U.S. production is low and largely limited to the southern portions of the country. The majority of these imports are tender warm-season vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, and snap beans. Cool-season crops like leafy green vegetables and carrots grow abundantly and cheaply in California, Arizona, and Texas during the winter months. As a result, imports of these items are very low compared with warm-season crops.
During 2000-07, imports accounted for 16 percent of total U.S. vegetable and melon consumption, up from 11 percent during 1990-07. With the exception of dry peas and lentils, the average import share of consumption increased over the past decade for all major categories (e.g. fresh, freezing, canning, dry beans). However, much of the gain over the past decade came from fresh-market vegetables. Fresh market vegetable imports have been under scrutiny ever since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. During the first year of NAFTA, the import share of consumption for fresh vegetables and melons remained steady at about 10 percent. However, following the devaluation of the Mexican peso in December 1994, U.S. imports of Mexican vegetables rose sharply. Mexican growers increased shipments to the United States partly because of poor domestic demand and more attractive U.S. prices. Largely as a result of increased volume from Mexico, fresh vegetable import share rose to 12.5 percent during 1995 and 14 percent in 1996 and 1997. After slowing briefly earlier this decade, the import share of fresh vegetable and melon consumption reached an estimated 19 percent in 2007.
In terms of processing vegetables, imports of most canned vegetables are relatively low due to highly mechanized and relatively low-cost domestic industries. Although low, there has been an increase in the share of consumption coming from imported products this decade. Imports of canned vegetables as a percentage of domestic disappearance were estimated to average nearly 13 percent during 2000-07, up from 6 percent during 1990-97. Import share has increased for most canned vegetables including chile peppers, asparagus, and sweet corn. With processors moving factories to countries such as Peru to take advantage of lower costs, 72 percent of the canning asparagus consumed came from imports in 2007, up from just 7 percent in 2000. The United States imports significant quantities of canned items not produced domestically, such as bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Estimates suggest that 15-20 percent of canned vegetable imports are noncompetitive, meaning there is little or no domestic production of the crop.
Tomato products are the leading canned vegetable and import volume of items such as tomato paste and canned whole/pieces is generally less today than a decade ago due to increasing efficiency (new plants, lower costs) in the domestic industry. One exception is imports of various tomato sauces that have risen strongly this decade due to interest in various ethnic cuisines. Imports of tomato products as a share of domestic disappearance averaged nearly 6 percent during 2000-07, up from 4 percent during 1990-97 but down slightly from the import share experienced during 1980-87.
Frozen vegetable imports continue to trend higher, with 2000-07 volume averaging three times above the 1990-97 level (including potatoes). Imports of frozen vegetables (excluding potatoes) accounted for about 25 percent of consumption in 2000-07, up from 16 percent during 1990-97. Excluding potatoes, broccoli accounts for about a third of the frozen vegetables imported. Most frozen broccoli comes from Mexico (with lesser amounts from Guatemala and Ecuador). Frozen broccoli has the highest degree of import penetration among all vegetables, with about 87 percent of domestic disappearance coming from imports in 2007. Cutting broccoli into florets is a labor-intensive task. To cut costs, the industry basically moved from California to Mexico in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Both the frozen asparagus and cauliflower markets also feature high degrees of import incursion.
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