Imports of organic foods growing rapidly

Source: USDA

WASHINGTON DC - Americans are eating a lot of organic foods these days, and many of those organic foods are coming from overseas. That’s according to a new report from the USDA which indicates the United States is importing more than $15 million worth of organic foods every day – totaling $5.7 billion last year. Some of the most common organic foods being imported include blueberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

For more than a decade, the value of U.S. organic imports has increased, rising to $5.7 billion in 2024. One reason for the increase is that imports of high-value products, such as fresh cultivated blueberries, have risen. In addition, the United States has introduced new trade tracking codes for organic products, adding to the total tracked value of organic imports.

The United States imports organic commodities for various reasons, including when domestic growing conditions are not suited to production, when commodities are grown domestically but domestic demand surpasses domestic supply, and when off-season imports keep supply constant. In 2013, 2022, 2023, and 2024, many new product tracking codes were added for organic products under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and organic commodities that were previously only recorded under a more general import category can now be distinguished as organic.

For instance, prior to the organic cucumber codes introduced between 2022 and 2024, organic cucumber imports would only have been recorded under total cucumber imports.