U.S. Food Imports

Overview Documentation

Overview

U.S. consumers demand variety, quality, and convenience in the foods they consume. As Americans have become wealthier and more ethnically diverse, the American food basket reflects a growing share of tropical products, spices, and imported gourmet products. Seasonal and climatic factors drive U.S. imports of popular types of fruits and vegetables and tropical products, such as cocoa and coffee. In addition, a growing share of U.S. imports can be attributed to intra-industry trade, whereby agricultural-processing industries based in the United States carry out certain processing steps offshore and import products at different levels of processing from their subsidiaries in foreign markets.

This data set provides import values of edible products (food and beverages) entering U.S. ports and their origin of shipment. Data are from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. Food and beverage import values are compiled by calendar year into food groups corresponding to major commodities or level of processing. At least 10 years of annual data are included, enabling users to track long-term growth patterns.

Data

Data Set Last Updated Next Update Value of U.S. food imports, by food group Summary data on food import values for 14 food categories, annual data since 1999. July 2009 March 2010 Value of U.S. food imports, top source countries Summary data on food import values by top source countries, annual data since 1999. July 2009 March 2010 Value of U.S. food imports, top source countries by food sector Summary data on food import values by top source countries for livestock products, crops and products, beverages, annual data since 1999. July 2009 March 2010   Value of U.S. food imports, by food group Food import values, top source countries for each food category, annual data since 1999. Live meat animals Meats and meat products Fish and shell fish Dairy products and eggs Vegetables and vegetable preparations Fruits and fruit preparations Nuts and nut preparations Coffee and tea Grains and grain products, including bakery foods Vegetable oils and oilseeds Sugar, sweeteners, and confections Cocoa products and chocolate Sauces, spices, and other edible foods Wine, beer, and other beverages July 2009 March 2010 Volume of U.S. food imports, by food group Summary data on food import volumes for 14 food categories, annual data since 1999. July 2009 March 2010 Unit value of U.S. food imports, by food group Summary data on food import unit values for 14 food categories, annual data since 1999. July 2009 March 2010 All tables in one file July 2009 March 2010

Data Updates

Calendar year updates are prepared in March/April following the release of annual calendar year trade data in February. Fiscal year data are provided upon request.

Related Links

Other ERS data products:

• Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS)
• Aquaculture Data
• Livestock and Meat Trade Data
• Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's U.S. Trade Internet System offers international trade statistics on agricultural, fish, forest, and textile products from 1989 to the present.