Ingeniere

Strawberry Situation and Outlook in Selected Countries
In marketing year (MY) 2003/04, fresh strawberry production for selected major
producers was estimated at 1,912,118 metric tons, an increase of 6 percent over the
2002/03 level. Frozen strawberry production in 2003/04 was up 10 percent at
459,951 tons for the same countries. For 2004/05, fresh production is forecast down
slightly formost major producers, with the exception of Spain.

Major Strawberry Producers
Total Production

Thousand

Frozen Production

1,200
1,000

*
2004/ 05
fore cast
for U .S.
not
avail able

800
600
400
200
0
Italy

Japan

Mexico

Poland

Spain

United States

Marketing Years 1999/00 to 2004/05F

Source: USDA FAS Production, Supply, and Distribution

GlobalProduction and Trade
The United States is the world’s leading producer of strawberries for both the fresh and
frozen markets. U.S. production has seen steady growth over the past several years.
Typically about 25 percent of that production goes to the frozen market. Spain is the
second largest producing country with most of its production utilized by the fresh market.
Poland is the third largestproducer overall, but the second leading frozen strawberry
producer. Although Japan produces slightly more than 200,000 tons annually, it
consumes most of its production in fresh form and imports additional supplies to fulfill its
domestic demand.
Spain is the world’s leading exporter of fresh strawberries, followed by the United States.
The world’s top exporter of frozen strawberries is Poland.In recent years, exports of
frozen strawberries from Poland have dropped dramatically from the record of more than
127,000 tons exported in 2001/02.

1

Fresh Strawberries
Spain
Spain’s
fresh
strawberry production
forecast for 2004/05 has
been set at 305,000
tons,
a
2-percent
increase
over
the
revised estimate for
2003/04. The focus of
Spain’s industry is for
the
freshmarket.
Typically, only about
10 to 15 percent of
production is used for
the
frozen
and
processing market.

Leading F resh Straw berry
E xp o rters

Thousand MT

250
200
150
100
50
0

Spain
1997

United
States
1998

Mexico
1999

2000

Belgium
2001

2002

Italy
2003

France
*2004

Calend ar Y ears
Source: G lobal T rade A tlas (*N ote 2004 covers: Jan-Sepfor Italy ; Jan-O ct f or Spain,
B elgium , and M ex ico; Jan-N ov for Fran ce and U SA .)

Spain typically exports more than twice as much as the United States. In calendar year
(CY) 2003, Spain exported an estimated 214,250 tons of fresh strawberries. This
represents a 1-percent decrease from the 2002 level. From January to August 2004,
Spain exported 224,597 tons, nearly 3 percent morethan the same period a year earlier.
Spain’s largest export markets are typically Germany, France, the United Kingdom (UK),
Belgium-Luxembourg, and Italy.
Spain’s imports of fresh strawberries are very small due to its large domestic crop. In
2003, imports were an estimated 8,600 tons, a 35-percent increase from 2002. From
January to August 2004, imports reached more than 7,000 tons, an increaseof nearly 3
percent over the same period a year earlier.
United States
Total U.S. production of strawberries for 2003/04 (marketing year January 2004December 2004) is estimated at 1,004,118 tons, an increase of 3 percent from the
2002/03 crop. Average annual production over the past 5 years totaled nearly 890,000
tons, with growth occurring each year for the past four. Generally, about 25percent of
the total production is utilized for the frozen and processed strawberry market.
The United States is the second largest exporter of fresh strawberries. In CY 2003, the
United States exported 88,548 tons of fresh strawberries. This marked a 24-percent
increase over the 2002 level. From January to November 2004, exports totaled 80,345
tons, a decrease of about 7 percent from the...