Fresh Produce Export Data is now a critical signal for global fruit and vegetable buyers. The market is growing, but patterns are changing. Some exporters are rising fast. Others are slowing down. Trade value is increasing again, after a dip in 2022. Logistics costs remain unstable. Energy and packaging costs are high. Supply routes are shifting.
This report looks at real trade data from official sources. It shows which countries lead in volume and value. It shows which regions are exporting more, and which are losing share. It also highlights recent U.S. import data, key product categories, and expected trends.
Global export value: vegetables and fruits
The global value of fresh vegetable exports reached USD 95.5 billion in 2023. That was an 11% increase from 2022. It marked the fastest growth in five years. The value of fruit exports was USD 146.6 billion, also up by 5%. Both categories recovered after the dip in 2022.
Global vegetable export growth (USD million)
| Year | Vegetable Export Value | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 73,738 | – |
| 2020 | 76,771 | +4% |
| 2021 | 83,508 | +8% |
| 2022 | 85,281 | +2% |
| 2023 | 95,536 | +11% |
Global fruit export growth (USD million)
| Year | Fruit Export Value | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 128,882 | – |
| 2020 | 133,868 | +4% |
| 2021 | 146,504 | +9% |
| 2022 | 139,243 | –5% |
| 2023 | 146,588 | +5% |
Fresh Produce Export Data shows that trade is recovering faster than production. Vegetable export value grew faster than global output between 2017 and 2022.
Category leading exporters
The Export Data of Fresh Produce differs depending on the product group. There are nations that excel in the vegetable sector and there are those that specialize in selling fruits. Exporters of fresh vegetables in 2023 as discussed under the code HS 070990 were Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, China and Italy.
Mexico topped the value of exports valued at USD 842 million with 929, 000 tonnes of quantity of the product. Spain came next USD 755 million based on 565,000 tonnes. Netherlands made USD 683 million with 227, 000 tonnes. China had an export of 471,000 tonnes worth USD 652m, and Italy had the export of USD 591m of 232,000 tonnes. These five nations still remain the mainstay of the global fresh vegetable trade by providing volume retailing programs in North America, Europe and Asia.
In the case of fruit exports to Hs 081090, Thailand had domineered the world market with the value of USD 4.7 billion out of 1.49 million tonnes. Vietnam trailed with 653 000 tonnes worth USD 3.0 billion. New Zealand exported 488,000 tonnes paying 1.49 billion dollars. Italy and the European Union at large also did not go out of business exporting 317,000 and 323,000 tonnes respectively and were valued at USD 692 million and USD 597 million respectively. Such statistics prove that Asia-Pacific exporters have taken control of the high value fresh fruit categories into regional and international trade channels.
Cost and supply chain trend
There are also large changes of supply-side in the Fresh Produce Export Data. In 2017-2022, the European Union and the United States recorded an average annual vegetable production decline of 3 to 4 percent. Conversely, the international exports shot up at a rate of 3 percent a year during the same era. This discrepancy indicates an increase in per-unit value of trade as a result of inflation, complexity of logistics, and high grade exports.
The other important factor is a raise in costs. Prices on energy are quite unstable, and the costs of packaging are getting more costly, and labor prices have risen in their places of origin as well as markets. Moreover, logistics interruptions, such as port delays and container shortage, have caused less predictable delivery timing.
The growth of export is no longer inexplicably linked to crop yield, nonetheless there is an increasing association between actually exporting and the capability of a supplier to uphold cold chain criteria, conform to packaging requirements, and soak up logistics variability.
Fresh produce Market in the U.S. Import Market
The United States Fresh Produce Export Data indicates that their level of reliance on foreign supply is on the rise. The import of fresh produce of Mexican origin into the U.S. stood at 25.1 billion pounds in 2023 with a value of USD 17.96 billion. Next was Guatemala with 6.17 billion pounds and the majority of that was bananas.
The main export of Costa Rica was pineapples at 4.44 billion pounds. Canada exported 3.89 billion pounds of the predominantly vegetables, berries and potatoes. The Mexico was the floor dominant partner and it supplied 34 percent of the fruits imported in the U.S and 73 percent of the vegetables.
Supply of U.S. by source
Depending on imports has been increasing. Between 50 and 60 per cent of fresh fruit supply in the United States has been the result of imports in 2007-2021. In the case of vegetables, it was between 20 to 38 percent. Meanwhile, per-capita (at the same time) availability at home decreased as well–down from 312 lbs in 2017 to 282 pounds in fiscal year 2022.
Although the volumes of supply are increasing, the increase is primarily due to the imports as opposed to the farms in the United States. This changes are far reaching to the supermarket procurement and delivery planning, as well as contract sourcing.
The pressure of supply per-capita
The household-level availability is facing pressure even though the quantities of imports are rising. The decline in the per-capita supply can be seen by Fresh Produce Export Data that indicates a combination of high costs of production, frequent weather changes, and labor supply are behind the reduction in supply.
Moreover, the U.S. consumer is moving toward fresh product rather than the processed format and this puts an increased burden on cold chain facilities and supply cycles. Purchasers are now sourcing to a greater number of countries, usually with lower margins, tighter quality regulations and quicker replenishment rates.
Projections till 2030
Fresh Produce Export Data spells out a big shift in the way the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables will be made to the retail markets. In the year 2030, the US is likely to depend on imports to supply close to fifty percent of its fresh produce. Industrial output is also forecasted to reduce to 59.7 billion pounds in 2023 as compared to the year 2023 which had a production of 65.6 billion pounds.
Imports, on the other hand, are expected to upsurge in the same duration by 76 percent to reach 56.5 billion pounds, which is an alarming rise as compared to 2014. Meanwhile, the exports of fresh produce in the U.S. are likely to go down to slightly above 8.1 billion pounds.
The change implies that the U.S retailers will rely increasingly on international trade corridors to restock the shelves with fresh produce. This trend is conspicuous in a number of European states. The falling local production, Increased prices and uncertainty about the weather are compelling consumers to use longer and weaker supply chains.
As volumes of trade increase, the number of countries capable of fulfilling the orders of large supermarkets regularly grows at a slower pace. Fresh Produce Export Data indicates that the range of exporting countries to the world is small, but its volume is rising.
The forecast is an opportunity as well as a risk to those working in the supermarket sourcing teams. Year-round availability can be stabilised by access to more seasonal suppliers. The drawback however is that higher exposure to trade shocks, port impacts, currency fluctuations, and freight delays have to be met. Coming up to 2030, the produce imports will have taken the place of the local production vis-a-vis structural roles.
Streams of export risks and logists bottlenecks
There is an increase in trade volume, but information provided in Fresh Produce Export Data shows increasing exposure to supply chain risks. The container availability, cold chain and customs facilitation are crucial to the global fresh produce system. Over the last three years, most of the routes have had port congestion, trucking shortages, and changing freight pricing.
The increased prices of packaging and energy are also taking its toll on the overall landed cost of the produce. Asian and Latin American exporters say they have to raise prices of plastic film, cardboard and cooling materials. In cases that farm-level prices do not change, the selling price paid per unit of export is at an increasing rate because of logistic constraints.
There is an enhancement of inspection regulations by the importing countries that raises the significance of the accuracy of paperwork and the transit rates. Failure to reach inspection windows or cooling breaks may results in product rejection. This is of particular concern to short shelf products such as leafy greens as well as soft fruit and cut veg. The retailers have learned not to compete solely on price and quality alone but also on route reliability, transit buffer, and origin port stability.
Fresh Produce Export Data are utilized by Supermarket teams to source risk and minimise risk at the sourcing stage. Delivery windows, pack format and documentation all have become ‘clearance-ready, reliable elements of supplier assessment. Price is no longer the only consideration of buyers. They analyse the failure rates and exporter records by week of the year, and failure rates on documentation, packaging, or quality.
Data-based sourcing and Private label
The proportion of fresh produce being sold through private label now exceeds 50 percent in Europe and North America. Fresh Produce Export Data has a direct influence in the sourcing of these products. Buyers must be able to predict supply in different regions, and obtain supply that is made to highly specific and particular requirements of the own brands.
As the presence of private label strengthens in such category as fruit salads or organic vegetables and pre-packed mixes, data becomes a foundation source of the activity in sourcing. In the effort to bypass the traditional brokers, the supermarkets have increasingly agreed to deal with the exporter cooperatives directly. That way, it can better manage volume, pricing and branding, but it also heightens dependence on good export information.
Procurement teams have adopted methodologies of using certified data base to monitor the performance, level of volume of exporter, reliability on annual basis. They examine the supplier reports on customs and shipment records to compare the suppliers before entering new contracts. With the high-volume category, e.g. avocados or mixed greens, sourcing managers will use the Fresh Produce Export Data to find predictable origins capable of supplying year-round on a branded basis.
This strategy has been transforming the manner in which supermarket chains design the supply network. It also enhances the need of traceability, third-party audit preparedness, and consistent multi-year export-volume production of the exporters.
Local trades Logic Regimes
Export flows do not have even distribution around the world. According to Fresh Produce Export Data the North America is closely connected with Mexico, Central America, and Canada. In Europe, Spain and the Netherlands remain market leaders in terms of intra-EU trade with other countries and Morocco and South Africa are entering the scene, particularly with citrus and winter vegetables.
Such countries as Vietnam, Thailand, and China are gaining in terms of volume and unit value in the Asia-Pacific. New Zealand is an active participant in the exports of apples and kiwi. Australia is delving into the Asia centred category of table grapes, berries and fresh citrus.
Africa is a country with a high potential of production, however, the distance of traders continues to be constrained by barriers in trade and by inadequate infrastructure and regulatory impediments. Others in Africa are developing direct export corridors into the EU, but with little being able to contend with the volume, required pack compliance and speed of turn around to provide consistent supply to supermarkets.
Through the UAE, the Middle East is emerging as re-export centre. The area is not a large producer of produce, though regional consolidation, re-pack and trans-shipment of fresh produce that enters South Asia, Africa and the Gulf is increasingly being undertaken here.
Fresh Produce Export Data data states that, although, the global trade is growing, the origins of kilolitre grade and ready available volume remain extraordinarily concentrated. Supermarkets are spreading out the origin risk but such spreading is restricted by settlement standards and logistic ability.
