Can Wages Rise Quickly Enough to Keep Workers in the Fields?

Charlton, Diane; Taylor, J. Edward; Vougioukas, Stavros; Rutledge, Zachariah

doi:10.22004/ag.econ.288634

Cited by 1 publication

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“…However, the U.S. fruit and vegetable industry has been facing major challenges in production and import competition. In recent years, growers of fruit and vegetables, which are labor-intensive crops, have reported challenges in hiring sufficient farm labor, especially in the peak harvesting months [4][5][6][7]. Moreover, rising labor costs have been trimming down growers' profit margins over the years [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The U.S. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Industry: An Overview of Production and Trade

2022

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The fruit and vegetable industry is an important segment of the U.S. agriculture. The 2017 U.S. Agriculture Census shows that the industry had total sales of USD 48 billion from over 10 million acres of land. However, over the last two decades, production of major fruit and vegetable crops in the United States has been declining while imports have grown significantly. The rapidly growing imports have posed challenges to the sustainability of the U.S. domestic industry. This study provides a systematic industry review of fresh fruit and vegetable production and trade between the United States and Mexico, by far the largest source of U.S. imports, highlighting the structural shift in the market over the last two decades and the caveats for industry sustainability. The analysis shows that Florida, Georgia, and California are among the states that face the strongest competition from Mexico. Among the 10 crops reviewed, berry, tomato, pepper, and cucumber production has been affected the most. The study further discusses the factors driving the rapid growth of imports and shows the importance of innovation and policy reform to the sustainability of the U.S. fruit and vegetable industry.

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