It should come as no surprise to specialty crop producers in the Southeast, but fresh vegetable import volume was up in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Situation and Outlook Report. The U.S. remained a net importer of fresh market vegetables in volume and value in calendar year 2022.
Some of the trade highlights for fresh vegetables from 2022 to January-February 2023 include:
The value of fresh vegetables imports, which excludes potatoes and mushrooms, increased 7% to $10.7 billion, while the value of exports increased 3% to $2.5 billion.
Fresh lettuce imports totaled more than 1.1 billion pounds in 2022. Volume increased for head lettuce (40%) and non-head lettuce (13%), compared with the previous production year. Mexico was the top fresh lettuce supplier to the U.S., accounting for 87% of head lettuce import volume and 95% of non-head lettuce import volume in 2022.
The fresh/dried import volume of sweet potatoes reached a record 142.5 million pounds in 2022, with 86% of the volume originating from China. The U.S. remained a net exporter of fresh/dried sweet potato in 2022, with export volume (506 million pounds) down 14% from 2021. China is the world’s largest producer of sweet potatoes, though the U.S. is a world leader in sweet potato exports.