Overview

This page provides information on:  

• Periodic and scheduled ERS publications and data on Fruit and Tree Nuts
• Recent ERS publications related to Fruit and Tree Nuts

The U.S. fruit and tree nuts industry consists of a wide array of crops and products generating, on average, over $28 billion in farm cash receipts annually since 2010. Produced on less than 2 percent of U.S. agricultural cropland, farm cash receipts from this sector account for about 6 percent of the total receipts for all agricultural commodities and around 11 percent for all crops.

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) monitors fruit and tree nuts markets and provides the following range of data products and reports on fruit and tree nuts markets including domestic supply, demand, trade, and prices.

Periodic, Scheduled Outputs 

• Outlook reports are published two or three times per year, providing current intelligence and forecasts on changing conditions in the U.S. fruit and tree nuts sector. Interactive charts and highlights of the most recent Outlook report are available in the Market Outlook.
• Fruit and Tree Nut Data are updated monthly and provide detailed U.S. export and import data, producer and retail price indexes, and a few retail prices.
• Fruit and Tree Nuts Yearbook Tables are updated annually and contain 150 Excel spreadsheets detailing over 20 years of annual or monthly data for U.S. bearing acreage, production, prices, trade, per capita use, and more.
• Fruit and Vegetable Prices is a data set that reports average prices per edible cup equivalent to inform policymakers and nutritionists about how much money it costs U.S. consumers to eat a sufficient quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables.

Recent ERS Reports Relating to Fruit and Tree Nuts 

In addition to the periodic Outlook reports and data products, ERS produces reports covering issues important to fruit and tree nuts markets in the United States and around the world.

Recent ERS reports relating to fruit and tree nuts markets include:

• Specialty Crop Participation in Federal Risk Management Programs This study characterizes recent changes in Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) and Noninsured Crop Disaster Program (NAP) use by specialty crop farmers, compares differences among conventional and organic farms, and investigates the reasons some farmers choose whether to participate in these programs. Specialty crop growers increased the value of their crops insured by FCIP products from about $12 billion in 2011 to about $21 billion in 2020 (not adjusted for inflation). A case study of nine specialty crop growers in New York State explores reasons they choose whether to participate in these Federal programs.
• Examining the Growth in Seasonal Agricultural H-2A Labor This study analyzes how the H-2A Agricultural Guest Worker program allows U.S. agricultural employers to hire foreign workers on a temporary or seasonal basis. This report explores how H-2A usage levels differ by agricultural sector, geography, and by the type of firm requesting workers. Fruit and tree nut producers were among the highest users of H-2A in 2019.
• Developing Automation and Mechanization for Specialty Crops: A Review of U.S. Department of Agriculture Programs At $64.7 billion, specialty crops comprised one-third of U.S. crop receipts in 2017. Relative to other crops, many specialty crops depend more on agricultural labor for production, harvesting, and processing. This study describes six U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that accelerate the development and use of automation or mechanization in the production or processing of specialty crops.
• Economic Drivers of Food Loss at the Farm and Pre-Retail Sectors: A Look at the Produce Supply Chain in the United States This study provides an overview of the drivers of food loss on the farm and other pre-retail sectors, with a focus on economic incentives that underlie the way fresh foods are grown, processed, and marketed in the United States. The study focuses on the produce sector because fruits and vegetables are highly perishable and important to diet quality.
• U.S. Produce Growers' Decisionmaking Under Evolving Food Safety Standards U.S. produce growers face increased demand for implementing more food safety practices, prompted by a series of high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks. A series of case studies with growers of five commodities (apples, cantaloupe, strawberries, onions, and tomatoes) in six regions reveal the industry's long history of voluntarily adopted food safety standards as well as requirements set by commercial buyers and Government agencies.
• Before Implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Rule: A Survey of U.S. Produce Growers The "Produce Rule" (PR), which began its phased implementation in January 2018, is an on-farm Food and Drug Administration regulation that sets specific disease-preventive requirements for produce that is sold and consumed raw in the United States. The report presents results of a 2015 and 2016 survey of produce growers about their microbial food safety practices before the PR’s implementation.
• Estimated Costs for Fruit and Vegetable Producers To Comply With the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Rule This study estimates farm-level costs to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Rule by commodity, State, and farm size. Across commodities and States, differences in costs are driven by differences in farm size and range from 0.3 percent of annual produce sales for the largest farms to 6.8 percent for the smallest.
• Food Safety Practices and Costs Under the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Using information from firms participating in the voluntary California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, this report provides information on the relative costs that U.S. firms could incur under similar provisions of the Produce Rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act.
• Changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program Under the Agricultural Act of 2014: Their Potential Risk Reduction Impacts ERS examines impacts of the Buy-Up coverage addition to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) on expected payments, producers' risk reduction, and NAP enrollment by type of producer and crops.
• The Influence of Income and Prices on Global Dietary Patterns by Country, Age, and Gender Worldwide changes in eating habits are contributing to a global rise in obesity and related noncommunicable diseases (diabetes, heart disease, and stroke) across all countries, including low- and middle-income. To address this issue, this report investigates how income and prices influence dietary habits globally.
• Estimating the Effects of Selected Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade on U.S.-EU Agricultural Trade This study investigates the effects of nontariff measures (NTMs)—specifically, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade—on agricultural trade between the United States and the European Union (EU). Along with tariff reduction, the removal of NTMs has emerged as a key focus of negotiations in the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
• Agriculture in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Tariffs, Tariff-Rate Quotas, and Non-Tariff Measures This study assesses the potential effects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the United States and the European Union on agriculture under three broad scenarios: complete removal of tariffs and tariff-rate quotas; elimination of non-tariff measures along with tariffs and tariff-rate quotas; and a lowering of the willingness of consumers to purchase imported goods previously limited by nontariff measures.