In the July 2024 United States Department of Agriculture Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook, the institution reports that U.S. fresh papaya imports surpassed the half-billion-pound mark for the first time last year, reaching a record of 501.2 million pounds.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture from USDA, NASS reports that very little acreage was used for tropical fruit production in the United States. Despite limited domestic production of tropical fruits, their popularity has increased exponentially in recent decades.

Papaya imports

The year 2023 marks the fifth consecutive year that the country has seen an increase in papaya import volumes. The report shows that higher imports pushed per capita availability to 1.51 pounds per person, a new high.

Twenty years ago, papaya per capita availability averaged 0.75 pound

Mexico is the largest papaya exporter, accounting for 82% of the volume on average over the last five years.

Earlier this year, fresh papaya imports decreased slightly, partly due to lower volumes from the second-largest exporter to the United States, Guatemala. Although imports from Mexico are only down 1%, shipments from Guatemala are down 37%, according to FAO’s Major Tropical Fruits Market Review.

Guatemala's papaya production decrease can be attributed to damage caused by "torrential rainfall, flooding, and mudslides from a tropical storm in October 2022."

Retail prices for Maradol and Tainung papaya varieties from Mexico and Central America averaged $1.09 per pound in the first half of the year, 12% higher compared to last year's first six months.

Tropical fruits

Most tropical fruit shipments come from Mexico and Central and South America.

From January to May 2024, the combined import volume for bananas, pineapples, mangoes, and papayas totaled 5.77 billion pounds, down 1% from the same period in 2023.

Bananas represented 67% of the tropical fruit import volume, followed by pineapples at 22%, mangoes at 8%, and papayas at 4%.

Higher banana and pineapple imports were offset by slightly lower papaya import volumes and much lower mango imports.