Farms.com Home   News

Imports Used By The U.S. Food System Totaled $76.6 Billion In 2013

In 2013, U.S. consumers spent $1.5 trillion on food and beverages, including both grocery store and eating-out purchases. Imported food and beverages that were purchased directly by U.S. consumers (such as farm-raised shrimp from Thailand, fresh avocados from Mexico, and wines from Spain) accounted for $186.9 billion—13 percent of this total. The remaining 87 percent ($1.3 trillion) was spent on domestically-produced food and beverages.

Food and beverages produced in the United States rely not only on domestic inputs, but also on embedded imports. Embedded imports are food ingredients and non-food inputs that are imported and used throughout the U.S. food system.

For example, cranberries are imported from Canada and then used as an ingredient in U.S. fruit juice production. Likewise, foreign-produced cookware and refrigerators are purchased by U.S. restaurant owners and are examples of embedded imports in the U.S. food system. In 2013, $76.6 billion of embedded imports were used, accounting for 5 percent of total U.S. food spending.

Imports used by the U.S. food system totaled $76.6 billion in 2013

Source:usda.gov


Trending Video

A new era in biostimulants and bionutritionals

Video: A new era in biostimulants and bionutritionals


In response to the growing need for efficient, effective biosolutions, HGS BioScience continues to expand its footprint in the bionutritional and biostimulant market with the acquisition of NutriAg, Ltd. The Paine Schwartz Partners-backed HGS BioScience is a global leader in humic and fulvic acid products. Toronto-based NutriAg is an innovator in bionutritional technologies with a deep R&D engine. North American growers and retailers will benefit from:

• Solutions across the biostimulant spectrum - including humics, fulvics, bionutritionals, carbohydrate chelation, amino acids, plant and seaweed extracts, and microbial technologies.
• A portfolio and R&D pipeline of science-backed solutions proven to drive crop productivity and farm profitability.
• Actionable nutrient insights and recommendations based on data specific to their farm and cropping goals with the NutriAnalytics platform