The United States produces most of its own food, but about 15 percent of what Americans spend on food and beverages goes directly to imported products. That share rises dramatically for certain categories. Roughly 60 percent of fresh fruit, 38 percent of fresh vegetables, and nearly 80 percent of seafood come from outside the country. In total, U.S. consumers spent $2.92 trillion on food and beverages in 2023, with imports making up a significant and growing slice.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
Produce is the category where imports have grown fastest. Between 2007 and 2021, the imported share of fresh fruit sold in the U.S. climbed from 50 to 60 percent. For fresh vegetables (not counting potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms), imports jumped from 20 to 38 percent over the same period.
Ten crops saw especially sharp increases, with import shares rising by more than 20 percentage points in just 14 years: avocados, raspberries, blueberries, asparagus, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, and snap beans. Many of these are crops that don’t grow year-round in most U.S. climates, so imports fill the gap during colder months and keep grocery stores stocked with fresh options regardless of season.
Mexico dominates this trade. In 2022, Mexico supplied 51 percent of U.S. fresh fruit imports and 69 percent of fresh vegetable imports by value. Canada contributed a smaller but meaningful share, accounting for 2 percent of fruit imports and 20 percent of vegetable imports. Central and South American countries, particularly Guatemala, Chile, and Peru, round out the supply chain for items like bananas, berries, and grapes.
Seafood
The U.S. imports more than 79 percent of the seafood it consumes. That figure surprises many people, given the country’s extensive coastlines and fishing industry, but American demand for shrimp, salmon, crab, tilapia, and tuna far outstrips what domestic fisheries and fish farms produce. The total value of imported seafood reached $25.5 billion in 2023.
The top five source countries paint a picture of global supply chains. Canada leads at 14.1 percent of import value, largely driven by lobster, crab, and salmon. Chile follows at 13 percent, primarily supplying farmed salmon. India accounts for 10 percent, mostly shrimp. Indonesia (7.9 percent) and Vietnam (6.4 percent) round out the top five, contributing shrimp, pangasius (a white fish commonly sold as swai), and tuna. Much of this seafood is farmed rather than wild-caught, reflecting the global shift toward aquaculture.
Beef and Pork
The U.S. is one of the world’s largest beef and pork producers, but it still imports significant quantities of both. Some of this is driven by taste and cut preferences. American ranches produce large volumes of grain-fed beef, while imported beef from countries like Australia and New Zealand tends to be leaner, grass-fed product used heavily in ground beef and processed foods.
The top sources for fresh beef imports are Australia, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, and Uruguay. Australia alone accounted for roughly a quarter of fresh beef import volume in early 2026, with Brazil and Mexico each contributing sizable shares. For pork, Canada is the dominant supplier by a wide margin, providing the majority of fresh pork imports. Denmark, Mexico, Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom also ship pork to the U.S., though in much smaller volumes.
Overall, imported meat made up a relatively modest portion of total U.S. consumption compared to produce or seafood. The country exports large volumes of beef and pork as well, so it functions as both a major buyer and seller on the global meat market.
Sugar and Sweeteners
Sugar is one of the most heavily regulated imported commodities in the U.S. food system. The government sets annual quotas that limit how much raw and refined sugar can enter the country at lower tariff rates. Under these quotas, the U.S. has imported an average of 1.48 million short tons of sugar per year since 2000.
Forty countries hold allocations under the raw cane sugar quota, with shares based on trade patterns from the late 1970s. The Dominican Republic holds the largest allocation at about 17 percent, followed by Brazil at 14 percent and the Philippines at 13 percent. Mexico occupies a unique position: since 2008, Mexican sugar enters the U.S. duty-free and isn’t subject to quota limits, making Mexico one of the largest overall sugar suppliers.
Cooking Oils and Fats
Cooking oils represent a large and fast-growing import category. In 2021, U.S. imports of animal and vegetable fats and oils surged nearly 50 percent to reach $9.9 billion. Two products drove most of that increase: canola oil and palm oil.
Canada is the world’s leading canola producer, and U.S. imports of Canadian canola oil rose by $1.6 billion in a single year (a 78 percent jump). Palm and palm kernel oil, sourced primarily from Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, increased by $880 million. Olive oil, largely from Spain, Italy, and Greece, is another major import, though it occupies a smaller market share than canola or vegetable oil blends. If you’ve cooked with canola oil or eaten packaged foods containing palm oil, you’ve almost certainly consumed an imported fat.
Coffee, Cocoa, and Spices
Some imported foods are so familiar that people rarely think of them as imports at all. Coffee cannot be commercially grown in the continental U.S. (Hawaii produces a small amount), so virtually all of it is imported from countries like Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, and Ethiopia. The same is true for cocoa, the raw material for chocolate, which comes almost entirely from West Africa and South America. Tea, black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, and dozens of other spices are similarly imported because they require tropical or subtropical growing conditions that most of the U.S. simply doesn’t have.
Where U.S. Food Imports Come From
A handful of countries supply the bulk of imported food. Mexico and Canada, the two closest trading partners, are the largest overall sources. Mexico is the top supplier of fresh produce, beer, and tequila, while Canada leads in seafood, canola oil, pork, and processed foods. Beyond North America, the biggest contributors include Brazil (coffee, beef, sugar, orange juice), Chile (salmon, wine, berries), India and Southeast Asian nations (shrimp, spices, rice), and European countries (cheese, olive oil, wine, chocolate).
The 85 percent of food spending that goes to domestically produced items still contains some imported ingredients. About 4 percent of the domestic supply chain’s cost covers “embedded imports,” meaning foreign-sourced ingredients or inputs that end up in products manufactured in the U.S. A frozen dinner assembled in an American factory, for example, might contain imported shrimp, imported spices, and imported palm oil, yet it counts as a domestic product at the point of sale.
Import reliance varies enormously by category. For staples like corn, soybeans, wheat, chicken, and dairy, the U.S. is largely self-sufficient and often a net exporter. For tropical products, seafood, and off-season produce, the country depends heavily on global supply chains to keep shelves stocked and prices stable.