The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its November forecast for US agricultural imports and exports during 2015, with overall export volumes expected to drop – although this will not be seen in fresh produce.
According to the report, overall agricultural exports are expected to fall from US$152.5bn dollars in fiscal 2014 to US$143.5bn next year, although fresh fruit and vegetable exports should rise to US$7.9bn from US$7.4bn this year.
Agricultural imports, meanwhile, are set to hit a record US$116bn in fiscal 2015, up from US$109.2bn.
For fresh produce, fruit import value is expected to climb from US$9.4bn to US$10.3bn, while vegetable imports will bring in US$7.1bn, up from US$6.6bn in 2014.
In volume terms, the US is forecast to import 11.4m tonnes of fresh fruit and 6.8m tonnes of fresh vegetables.
