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Exports
Imports
Exports
Over the past decade, 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
8 percent during 2000-04—up from 7 percent during
1990-94. Despite this small gain, export share of supply
has remained stagnant this decade, with most of the growth
occurring during the early 1990s. The top vegetables in
terms of export value are potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce,
sweet corn, and onions. The share of supply exported varies
substantially among commodities, with a few of the most
export-dependent vegetables during 2000-04 being:
- Onions for dehydration, 58 percent of supply;
- Dry edible peas and lentils, 41 percent;
- Fresh-market cauliflower, 28 percent;
- Fresh-market broccoli, 18 percent;
- Sweet corn for canning, 18 percent.
U.S. vegetable and melon export growth appears to have
been hindered over the past decade 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. fruits and vegetables.
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 8 percent of available supplies. In value terms,
fresh-market vegetables and melons (excluding potatoes)
claimed the largest share of total vegetable exports at
about $1.2 billion for each of 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, our leading
foreign market. 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 ($271 million in 2004), but lettuce also
enjoys relatively strong domestic demand. The same is
true for tomatoes, the second-largest fresh export ($174
million). Exports remove just 6 percent of the domestic
supply for each of these two commodities. This percentage
has slowly drifted lower over the past several 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 nearly a tenth of U.S. frozen vegetable
supplies during 2000-04, compared with 6 percent during
1990-94. In 2004, U.S. frozen vegetable exports (including
potatoes) totaled about 3 billion pounds (fresh-weight
basis), with a value of $541 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 871 million pounds annually
during 2000-04—up 20 percent from 1990-94.
Japan is the largest export market for U.S. frozen vegetables,
accounting for 43 percent of the total value during 2000-04.
Other important markets include Canada (14 percent), Mexico
(9 percent), China (6 percent), and South Korea (5 percent).
Until rising in 2004, U.S. frozen vegetable exports to
Japan had declined annually since peaking in 1998 as a
combination of lingering recession in Japan, the strong
U.S. dollar, and competition with other exporting nations
cut into U.S. exports. Although the value of U.S. frozen
vegetable exports to Japan has risen 45 percent since
1990-94, the United States has lost market share in the
Japanese frozen vegetable market 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 2000-04, exports of canned vegetables accounted
for about 8 percent of available supplies—up from
5 percent during 1990-94. The rising 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 were valued
at $0.5 billion during 2000-04. 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 one-third of the value of U.S. canned vegetable
exports during 2000-04—up from 26 percent during
1990-94. Japan is the second-largest U.S. market, with
20 percent of canned export value—the same share
as a decade earlier. Mexico (8 percent), South Korea (7
percent), and Taiwan (6 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 2000-04, with the majority
being fresh-market vegetables (78 percent) and frozen
products (8 percent). 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 5 years
of the 2000s are China (4 percent), the Netherlands (3
percent), and Spain (3 percent). China supplies products
such as mushrooms (26 percent), dried vegetables (excluding
mushrooms, garlic, and pulses, 15 percent), water chestnuts
(12 percent), garlic (12 percent), and bamboo shoots (7
percent).
 In terms of value, fresh vegetables and melons account
for nearly two-thirds of annual vegetable imports. There
is a definite seasonal pattern to fresh vegetable imports,
with two-thirds of import volume arriving between December
and April when U.S. production is low and 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 2000-04, imports accounted for 13 percent of total
U.S. vegetable and melon consumption—up from 7 percent
during 1990-04. With the exception of dry peas, lentils,
and dehydrated onions, 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. Import share of fresh vegetable and melon consumption
peaked in 1998 at nearly 16 percent, which is where it
has settled since 2002.
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 11 percent during 2000-04, up
from 6 percent during 1990-94. Import share has increased
for most canned vegetables including chile peppers, asparagus,
and sweet corn. Also, the United States imports significant
quantities of canned items not produced domestically,
such as bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. It is estimated
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 2000-04—up from 4 percent
during 1990-94 but down slightly from the import share
experienced during 1980-84.
Frozen vegetable imports continue to trend higher, with
2000-04 volume averaging three times above the 1990-94
level (including potatoes). Imports of frozen vegetables
(excluding potatoes) accounted for about 23 percent of
consumption in 2000-04—up from 16 percent during
1990-94. Broccoli accounted for a major share (38 percent)
of the 1.4 billion pounds of frozen vegetable imports
during 2000-04. Most frozen broccoli comes from Mexico
(with smaller amounts from Guatemala). Frozen broccoli
has the highest degree of import penetration among all
vegetables, with about 81 percent of domestic disappearance
coming from imports. 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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