US Imports of Mexican Broccoli Grew 23.3% in Q1 2022
During the first quarter of 2022, U.S. imports of Mexican broccoli recorded a 23.3% increase in value over the previous year, according to data from the Economic Research Service from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA-ERS).
U.S. fresh broccoli imports
Mexico is the main supplier of fresh broccoli to the United States, a position it has consolidated over the last few years, as broccoli shipments to the U.S. market have seen an overall increase. Learn more about broccoli production in Mexico.
In the last five years, the highest value for fresh Mexican broccoli shipped to the U.S. market was recorded in 2017 with 248.3 million dollars, although the highest volume was in 2021 with 524.9 million pounds. It should also be noted that in 2018 there was a significant decrease in the shipment of Mexican broccoli, both in volume and value.
U.S. imports of Mexican broccoli (2017-2021)
| Year | Volume (million pounds) | Value (million dollars) |
| 2017 | 473.0 | 248.3 |
| 2018 | 413.9 | 199.5 |
| 2019 | 480.4 | 211.5 |
| 2020 | 522.9 | 244.4 |
| 2021 | 524.9 | 242.7 |
Source: USDA-ERS/ProducePay 2022
However, during the first quarter of 2022, the U.S. imported 195.9 million pounds of fresh broccoli from Mexico, which represented an increase of 3.7% compared to 188.9 million pounds for the same period in 2021.
On the other hand, in economic terms, for the first quarter of 2022 the value of Mexican broccoli was $94.3 million, while for the same period in 2021 the value was $76.5 million, an increase of 23.3%.
Another important supplier of broccoli to the United States during the first quarter of 2022 was Guatemala ($5.6 million), a country that ranks second, with a variation of +19.3% compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Learn more about the fresh broccoli market in the U.S.
What about Mexican frozen broccoli?
Mexican frozen broccoli is usually shipped in large quantities to the United States, although in smaller volumes than fresh broccoli, showing a decrease in volume during the last few years. Despite this, Mexican frozen broccoli exceeds fresh broccoli in value, having that, in 2020 and 2021 its value was 285 and 276 million dollars, respectively.
For the first quarter of 2022, frozen broccoli shipments also increased with respect to this period in 2021, although this growth was only 4.3% in terms of volume and 6.0% in terms of value.
What does this increase represent for Mexico?
It is important to mention that, although a very important volume of Mexican broccoli is shipped to the United States, most of the shipments occur during the last quarter of the year, so we will have to wait to see if this year imports of Mexican broccoli will be higher than in 2021.
Do you want to learn more about broccoli production and marketing? Download and review our analysis on this crop to learn more. Download it here!
Source:
USDA-ERS. Vegetables and Pulses Data / Data by commodity – Broccoli
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/vegetables-and-pulses-data/