U.S. fresh produce imports are exceeding expectations.
U.S. Department of Agriculture projections for fiscal year 2020 (October 2019-September 2020) U.S. fresh produce imports were raised by $300 million for fruits and $100 million for vegetables compared with the November forecast.
The import forecast for all horticultural products has a net increase of $300 million from the previous forecast to $66.3 billion, according to the USDA. A drop of $100 million each for nut and processed fruit brought the overall increase down.
In a May 5 update on agricultural trade, the USDA said increases in the overall agricultural product imports comes from a higher demand for horticultural products from the Americas.
The USDA said imports from Mexico are expected to increased by $300 million from the November forecast to $28.3 billion; for imports from Canada, the forecast is increased by $100 million to $3.2 billion.
South America has a forecast increase of $100 million to $14.7 billion, the USDA said, which is attributed to U.S. imports of Peruvian fresh fruits.
