US fruit imports surge in January and February

US fruit imports jumped by 23% y-o-y to a record $4.9bn during January and February this year, with fresh, frozen and processed categories all seeing double-digit growth, according to USDA data. While import volume did not rise at the same pace as the value (+7% y-o-y), it still reached a record 2.6 million tons. 
The ‘other fruit category’ is by far the largest (including avocados, berries and bananas) and rose by 19% to $2.5 billion. But it was the citrus category that registered the most impressive growth, almost doubling to $253 million, driven mainly by mandarins and limes.
Among the top-five supplying countries, import growth was largest from Mexico and Peru (27% each). Next came Chile (+14%), Guatemala (+11%) and Costa Rica (+6%).