Consumers are increasingly concerned about the healthiness and environmental footprint of their diets, which has led to increased opportunities for both domestic and foreign organic products in the United States. These developments have significant implications for international trade. In just over a decade, the total value of imported organic products in the United States has nearly doubled, rising from $667 million in 2011 to approximately $2 billion in 2023. During the same period, US exports increased from $412 million to $582 million.

Top Traded Products

import export data indicates that, in terms of exports, the majority of organic trade consists of fruits and vegetables. By 2023, these products accounted for approximately 60% and 30% of exports, respectively. However, there have been different changes in the import scenario. In 2011, organic imports to the United States were dominated by coffee and tea, which accounted for around 84% of imports at the time. Today, coffee and tea only make up 34% of US organic imports. This does not mean that these imports have disappeared. In fact, during this period, the import value of coffee and tea has increased from $563 million to $673 million. Therefore, the decrease in the share of coffee and tea imports is actually due to the rapid expansion of imports of other organic products—primarily fruits—which accounted for around 50% of organic imports in 2023.

US Organic Trade Partners

According to import export data, Canada is the largest market for US organic products (importing $70 million worth of products annually), followed by Mexico ($40 million), Japan ($9 million), Taiwan ($7 million), and South Korea ($4 million). In terms of organic imports, Mexico is our largest trading partner (exporting $110 million worth of organic products to the US annually). Peru, Colombia, and Honduras are the second, third, and fourth largest participants, exporting approximately $90 million, $70 million, and $70 million worth of organic products to the US each year, respectively.

Is Exporting Organic Food to the United States Profitable? How Can I Start an Organic Food Business in the US?

Before starting an organic food business in the United States, several factors need to be considered: local transportation infrastructure, consumer acceptance of organic food, and the competitive landscape.

When venturing into the organic food business in the United States, it's a good idea to refer to the development path of competitors. This can help you avoid unnecessary detours. How can you reference competitors in the organic food business? Here are some steps and suggestions:

1. Identify competitors: 

First, you need to obtain import export data for the United States. Tendata provides import export data for the United States, including importers, exporters, quantities, values, source countries, destinations, etc. Simply log in to Tendata's import export data to find all importers and exporters who have conducted organic food trade with the United States in the past year.

Tendata helps you accurately identify competitors in two ways:

(1) You can select specific countries such as the "United States" to view the entire supply chain of US importers of organic food traded in the past year and identify competitors by finding their suppliers.

(2) You can directly choose "Export" from all countries worldwide and set the destination country to the "United States" to determine exporters who have exported organic food to the United States globally.

After obtaining the list of organic food exporters, compare the trade volume, prices, trade trends, supply chain situations, etc., of these competitors to determine the competitors that fit your positioning.

2. Conduct competitor background checks:

Various report services provided by Tendata can help you conduct competitor research.

(1) Analyze competitors' market share: Through import export data, study competitors' market share and position in the US organic food market. Check Tendata's "Summarized Exporter Report," which shows the market share of all organic food exporters trading with the United States.

(2) Investigate competitors' products and services: Understand the types, prices, trade volumes, etc., of organic food products offered by competitors based on HS codes. Click on the company name and view this information on Tendata.

(3) Assess competitors' customer bases: Through the supply chain, understand competitors' target customer bases, market positioning, and sales channels. Check the supply chain situation in the company introduction on Tendata.

(4) Contact and communicate with competitors: If possible, contact and communicate with competitors to understand their business models, experiences, insights into the market, etc. Tendata provides contact information for competitors' executives, making it easy for you to contact competitors via social media, phone, email, etc.

Through import export data, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of competitors' organic food businesses and formulate corresponding marketing strategies and business plans based on relevant information to enhance your competitiveness.