According to the USDA Economic Research Service, horticultural product exports for fiscal year (FY) 2021 remain the same from November’s forecast at $34.5 billion. Whole and processed tree nuts are unchanged at $9.0 billion. Most exports are bound for Europe and Asia.
Fresh fruit and vegetables also remain the same at $6.9 billion on stable shipments to top markets like Canada and Mexico. Processed fruits and vegetables are unchanged at $6.5 billion on steady shipments to Canada.
Imports
The FY 2021 forecast for horticultural product imports also did not change. It’s still projected at $70.2 billion, which is $3.3 billion more than FY 2020. Fresh and processed fruit import values are unchanged from the November forecast.
The forecast for fresh vegetable imports remains the same. The $200-million increase to the processed vegetable forecast offsets the $200-million decrease in for the forecast for whole and processed nuts based on a downward trend in nut imports since FY 2019.
This forecast of increasing horticultural imports through FY 2021 continues a trend of yearly increases since 2009.
It was also reported that U.S. imports of sugar and tropical products are forecast to reach $23.3 billion in FY 2021, a $100 million upward adjustment from the previous forecast and $300 million above FY 2020.
Information taken from the USDA Economic Research Service.