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Availability
of U.S. carrots hit a high in 1997
Gary
Lucier
Fresh carrots account
for nearly three-fourths of all carrots
consumed in the United States. Per capita
availability of fresh carrots averaged
8.9 pounds during 2000-06—down
13 percent from a decade earlier but
38 percent higher than in 1980-86.
Fresh use of carrots
peaked in the mid-1990s as the industry
responded to widespread demand for relatively
novel fresh-cut products, including
packaged baby carrots. By the late 1990s,
demand settled into a more stable pattern
where it remains today.
Largely because of
declining production of frozen carrots
over the past several years, per capita
availability of processing carrots averaged
3.3 pounds during 2000-06.
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