Even when US is the largest producers of fruits and berries, it imported in 1995, fruit juices worth around $125 million. Trade in canned and dried tropical fruit is not included in this figure. Tropical fruit juices, concentrates, and pulp and puree, which are used mainly as raw material in fruit beverage industry are likely to benefit from this development.

The US is also an exporter of pineapple juice and sold around $7.8 million worth to other countries like Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Jamaica, Singapore, Panama and Norway among others.

According to the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture, total fruit production averaged 26.6 million tonnes per annum during the five year period from 1990-94, compared with anannual average of 24.8 million tonnes during 1985-89 period. In 1995, this figure rose to 29.2 million tonnes. The five most important fruits in this category that year were : oranges, grapes, apples, grapefruit and peaches. Among others were fruits and berries, including pineapple, bananas, papayas, mangoes and gauvas. Pineapple is by far the largest tropical crop, grown in Hawaii, followed by papaya.

Imports of pineapple juice and concentrate into the US markets amounted to $81 million in 1995 after fluctuating between $67 million and $96 million during 1991-95 period. The two main suppliers were the Philippines and Thailand with 49 per cent and 41 per cent respectively of total import value. Smaller but significant suppliers include Indonesia, Costa Rica and Mexico. However, during the five year period, the imports of frozen concentrate declined, whereas the category not concentrated showed an increasing trend from 1993 onwards.

The US market for processed banana products (mainly puree) is mainly inthe hands of two large multinationals and a producer in Ecuador. Processed banana product is basically a waste product, as the fresh market is the main business and is not highly lucrative. Processed banana is used in baby food, beverages, bakery and dairy products.

The principal suppliers of banana puree to the US include Costa Rica, Ecuador an Honduras. The total US market for banana puree and concentrate is around 20,000 tonnes including 5,000-6,000 tonnes of concentrate.

In addition to pineapple and bananas, US demand for passion fruits juice like mangoes and papaya remains high. Passion fruit is considered the most versatile for the tropical fruits in terms of possible applications in yoghurts and sorbets. The major exporters to this market include Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, while Kenya provides the purple type. It is estimated that the total market amounts to about 2,300 tonnes of concentrate, equivalent to approximately 9,000 tonnes of single strength.Thus, although most industry sourcesagree that imports of tropical fruit juices concentrates and pulp and puree will increase in the future, several factors may impede any significant increase in market size in the short to medium run. For example, several end-users complain that they cannot obtain a sufficient and consistent supply of good quality products to meet their requirements.

This is a major problem when producers build up sales of a given item and then suddenly experience supply problems in getting the necessary raw material. As a result, they may become reluctant to develop new products containing tropical fruit juices, which again will have a negative effect on imports. High and strongly fluctuating import prices for raw material may have a similar effect in the sense that some juices may price themselves out of formulas. Despite these constraints, pineapple juice and concentrate will continue to remain by far the most important tropical juice, but any substantial increase in supplies is considered unlikely. The trade seesconsiderable potential in banana pulp and puree and even in passion fruits.

(The author is market development adviser, ITC Ltd)