U.S. fruit imports in the first half of 2021 rose by 13 percent year-on-year, with the value of trade from Mexico seeing the largest increase of the top-five supplying countries.

Imports of all fresh, frozen and processed fruit grew from $11 billion to $12.3 billion MT from January through June this year.

Mexico, by far the leading supplier, provided nearly half of the volumes, with imports from the Latin American country rising by 19 percent to $5.9 billion.

The other top supplying countries also sent more fruit to the U.S.

Imports from Chile rose by 10 percent to $1.4 billion, while from Peru they rose 2 percent to $712 million. Guatemala, Costa Rica and Canada also sent greater volumes.

In terms of fruit categories, berries had a strong showing in the six-month period. Raspberry imports rose by 8 percent to $605 million, blueberries rose by 38 percent to $526 million, strawberries rose by 28 percent to $773 million and blackberries rose by 30 percent to $318 million.

Avocado imports rose by 2 percent to $1.3 billion, table grape imports rose 6 percent to $1.6 billion, and citrus rose by 21 percent to $548 million.

Bananas were one of the few categories to see a decline, falling by 3 percent to $957 million.