AgriAuditor

AgriAuditor Research · July 2026

The U.S. Import Gap Report 2026

In the 2023 snapshot, the United States is a net importer of 18.1 million tonnes across the twenty crops below — many of which are climatically viable on American soil. We ranked U.S. net crop imports from FAOSTAT data and checked each one against our climate-envelope engine to answer a simple question: which of these could be grown at home, and where?

Report scope and source snapshot

Published: 7 July 2026 · Updated: 9 August 2026 · Trade year: 2023 · Snapshot: 2026-07-05.

The twenty values below are the U.S. rows in the committed FAOSTAT/FAO Trade bulk snapshot, stored as whole kilotonnes. This is an annual snapshot, not a live feed. The current report does not claim that its rows are a live UN Comtrade extract.

Key findings

  • 4.1 million tonnes of bananas — the single largest gap — but bananas are genuinely tropical; re-shoring potential is minimal.
  • 1.9 million tonnes of tomatoes are net-imported despite tomatoes being viable in nearly every U.S. state in season — the largest growable gap.
  • 1.16 million tonnes of avocados are imported while Southern California, South Florida and the Rio Grande Valley remain climatically suitable.
  • 1.13 million tonnes of oats are recorded as net imports in this snapshot; the northern plains remain a separate climate and production question.
  • Of the top 20 net-imported crops, 12 are viable across most of the country; only 4 are strictly tropical.

The top 20 U.S. net crop imports

1.Bananas4.1M t

Tropical — only far-south Florida and Hawaii fringe production · see where it grows

2.Tomatoes1.9M t

Viable in nearly every U.S. state in season · see where it grows

3.Coffee (green)1.3M t

Hawaii and Puerto Rico only · see where it grows

4.Pineapples1.2M t

Hawaii; greenhouse elsewhere · see where it grows

5.Avocados1.2M t

Southern California, South Florida, Rio Grande Valley · see where it grows

6.Cucumbers & gherkins1.1M t

Viable nationwide in season · see where it grows

7.Chilli Peppers (fresh)1.1M t

Southern states in open field; greenhouse north · see where it grows

8.Oats1.1M t

Northern plains — a classic re-shoring candidate · see where it grows

9.Lemons & Limes857k t

California, Arizona and Florida citrus belts · see where it grows

10.Watermelons564k t

South and Midwest in season · see where it grows

11.Mangoes, guavas & mangosteens556k t

South Florida only · see where it grows

12.Grapes532k t

Widely viable across the U.S. · see where it grows

13.Pumpkins, squash & gourds458k t

Viable nationwide · see where it grows

14.Cabbages415k t

Viable nationwide · see where it grows

15.Cantaloupes & other melons410k t

Widely viable in season · see where it grows

16.Rye285k t

Northern states · see where it grows

17.Onions & shallots (dry)240k t

Viable nationwide · see where it grows

18.Blueberries235k t

Pacific Northwest, Michigan, Maine, New Jersey, Southeast · see where it grows

19.Papayas210k t

South Florida and Hawaii · see where it grows

20.Carrots & turnips193k t

Viable nationwide · see where it grows

Methodology

Net imports = imports − exports for the U.S. in trade year 2023, in kilotonnes (1 kt = 1,000 tonnes), from the FAOSTAT Trade: Crops and livestock products bulk snapshot. The stored values are rounded to whole kilotonnes. The report uses one FAOSTAT Trade item code per displayed row; the classification and the transformation are listed below. Domestic viability is a separate AgriAuditor climate-envelope screen — see the model card.

Commodity codes, aliases, and transformations

Codes below are FAOSTAT Trade item codes, not HS codes. Each displayed row uses the named item; no additional HS-line aggregation is claimed. The stored metric is net_kt = round((import quantity − export quantity) / 1,000). The ranking selects the twenty largest positive U.S. net-import rows in the committed snapshot; non-positive rows are not shown.

Bananas — FAOSTAT item 486: Bananas

Tomatoes — FAOSTAT item 388: Tomatoes

Coffee (green) — FAOSTAT item 656: Coffee; green

Pineapples — FAOSTAT item 574: Pineapples

Avocados — FAOSTAT item 572: Avocados

Cucumbers & gherkins — FAOSTAT item 397: Cucumbers and gherkins

Chilli peppers (fresh) — FAOSTAT item 401: Chillies and peppers; green

Oats — FAOSTAT item 75: Oats

Lemons & limes — FAOSTAT item 497: Lemons and limes

Watermelons — FAOSTAT item 567: Watermelons

Mangoes, guavas & mangosteens — FAOSTAT item 571: Mangoes; guavas and mangosteens

Grapes — FAOSTAT item 560: Grapes

Pumpkins, squash & gourds — FAOSTAT item 394: Pumpkins; squash and gourds

Cabbages — FAOSTAT item 358: Cabbages

Cantaloupes & other melons — FAOSTAT item 568: Cantaloupes and other melons

Rye — FAOSTAT item 71: Rye

Onions & shallots (dry) — FAOSTAT item 403: Onions and shallots; dry (excluding dehydrated)

Blueberries — FAOSTAT item 552: Blueberries

Papayas — FAOSTAT item 600: Papayas

Carrots & turnips — FAOSTAT item 426: Carrots and turnips

Net-import volume is a screening signal, not a commercially realistic reshoring opportunity. It does not model demand, prices, contracts, logistics, processing, quality, tariffs, costs, water access, labor, or farm profitability. Climate viability likewise does not establish agronomic, market, or financial feasibility.

Suggested citation: AgriAuditor, "U.S. Import Gap Report 2026", published 7 July 2026, updated 9 August 2026, agriauditor.com/reports/import-gap-2026. Source: FAO, FAOSTAT Trade: Crops and livestock products, trade year 2023, accessed 9 August 2026. Review the FAOSTAT database terms before redistribution or commercial promotion; the current page does not offer a chart pack. For Comtrade-derived future rows, also review the UN Comtrade License Agreement. Corrections and methodology questions: contact AgriAuditor.

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Related research: U.S. Crop Search-Interest Report 2026