Vegetables and Pulses Outlook, April 2020 (summary)

Per Capita Availability Rises in 2019

In 2019, total U.S. per capita vegetable use (availability) increased 2 percent to 409 pounds. Except for pulse crops, all major categories exhibited increases. Availability of pulse crops dropped 23 percent as pinto and navy bean output slipped, while chickpea and lentil production declined sharply on reduced area. Recovering from a 6 percent drop in 2018, fresh-market vegetable availability (including potatoes) rose 4 percent to 198 pounds in 2019. In fact, 16 of the top 25 fresh-market vegetables posted gains in availability driven largely by increases for spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, green beans, and potatoes.

Although processing availability increased in 2019, canning uses accounted for all the gain with vegetables for freezing declining 2 percent. After declining in 2017, per capita canning availability increased for the second consecutive year. In 2019, it rose 3 percent to 94 pounds−the highest level since 2010. Increases were noted for many of the top canning vegetables, with most of the gain from processing tomatoes.