That dollar amount equals a 26.9% increase from the cost of America’s imported fruits which was $14.9 billion during 2017.
Year over year, US imports of fruits gained 12.5% compared to $16.6 billion for 2020.
Avocados, bananas and fresh grapes are America’s three most popular imported fruits. Collectively they represented 40.6% of the total value for all fruits imported into the United States during 2021.
America’s Most Beloved Imported Fruits
The following list showcases the top 15 imported fresh or dried fruits most in demand by Americans. Combined, these 15 fruit categories represent 88.1% of the overall cost of fruits imported by the United States in 2021.
- Avocados: US$3.1 billion (16.6% of US-imported fruits)
- Bananas not plantains: $2.6 billion (13.5%)
- Fresh grapes: $2 billion (10.5%)
- Fresh cranberries, bilberries: $1.74 billion (9.2%)
- Fresh raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, loganberries: $1.66 billion (8.8%)
- Fresh strawberries: $1.1 billion (5.7%)
- Lemons, limes: $892.6 million (4.7%)
- Guavas, mangoes: $818.2 million (4.3%)
- Pineapples: $810.1 million (4.3%)
- Watermelons: $417.8 million (2.2%)
- Mandarins including tangerines: $403.3 million (2.1%)
- Frozen strawberries: $402.4 million (2.1%)
- Melons excluding watermelons: $343.6 million (1.8%)
- Fresh tamarinds: $275.2 million (1.5%)
- Oranges: $252.9 million (1.3%)
Fastest growers among the top 15 categories were fresh lemons or limes (up 42.9% from 2020), frozen strawberries (up 27.8%), fresh strawberries (also up 27.8%), fresh cranberries and bilberries (up 27.1%), avocados (up 23.6%) then oranges (up 14.1%).
There was one year-over-year decliner, namely mandarins including tangerines. That product category realized a -3.9% decline compared to 2020.
Top Suppliers by Country
By value, listed below in descending order are the top 10 countries that supplied 88.6% of total fruits imported by America in 2021.
- Mexico: US$8.1 billion (44% of US-imported fruits)
- Chile: $1.9 billion (10.3%)
- Peru: $1.6 billion (8.9%)
- Guatemala: $1.3 billion (6.8%)
- Costa Rica: $1 billion (5.5%)
- Vietnam: $969.5 million (5.3%)
- Ecuador: $501.3 million (2.7%)
- Canada: $404 million (2.2%)
- Colombia: $258.9 million (1.4%)
- Honduras: $255.2 million (1.4%)
The fastest-growing top suppliers of fruits imported by the United States compared to 2017 were Peru (up 116.4%), Colombia (up 42.1%), Canada (up 36%) and Mexico (up 35.4%).
Leading U.S. imported fruits from Mexico include avocados and fresh strawberries. Fresh grapes and cranberries are the most valuable fruits shipped to America from Chile and Peru. Bananas top the list of fruits imported from Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras and Colombia.
American imports of guavas and mangos top the list of fruits imported from Vietnam. Cranberries, cherries and apples represent the most lucrative fruits imported into America for suppliers in Canada.
See also Bananas Exports by Country, Grapes Exports by Country, Avocados Exports by Country, Pineapples Exports by Country and Apples Exports by Country Plus Average Prices
Research Sources
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 2, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 2, 2022
Wikipedia, Fruit. Accessed on August 2, 2022
