The United States imports a lot of food, like a whole lot, like $17.6 billion worth of just fruits and vegetables in 2012.

Most of that precious produce comes from Central and South America. Last year, the United States got 35% of its produce (by container ship) from South America and the majority of that comes from the rich soils of Chile. Chile sent over $1.3 billion worth of produce by vessel in 2012.

(To the right are the top produce imports to the United States from South America in 2012, created on infogr.am)

The top produce cruising its way here is fresh grapes. Grapes make up almost a quarter of all produce that comes from the continent, which is over $678 million worth. Bananas come in a close second with about 20% of South American produce exports. The third most popular crop is surprisingly cranberries and blueberries, which are about 7% of imports.

All that produce travels to both coasts of the United States, but the top port of entry is the Port of Philadelphia. That’s right, a quarter of all those grapes and nanners enter through Philly before entering your mouth. As for the western side of the nation, Los Angeles brings in 15% of South American produce, which was about $400 million worth in 2012.

Through August of 2011, the U.S. merchandise trade balance stands at -$482 billion. So far this year, the U.S. has imported 150% more than it has exported, in value. While the majority of products are imported from Asia, thousands of others come from around the world. 

Currently, 2011 import values are less than those seen in 2010. As the holiday season approaches, it will be interesting to monitor the changing product cycles as stores begin to stock up their shelves. 

Below is a list of the top 10 imported products by value for 2011, to date.

There are thousands of other product categories for imports and millions of imported products in total. To search for and examine other products, please click here for a free trial of our trade intelligence tools.

Zepol's ComplianceMonitor™ tool shows that in September 2011, 132 new Ruling letters were reported by the U.S. government in regards to U.S. imports. In September of last year, 296 rulings were reported. In 2011, the vast majority of the ruling letters were for textiles. The other rulings were split between household products including brooms and mops, photographic equipment and toys and games. The textile imports included footwear, woven fabrics and coats among other items.

Being aware of the most recent compliance changes is of critical importance if your company wishes to avoid potential penalties. ComplianceMonitor™ proactively alerts users of the most recent updates for your imported products, allowing you to stay up-to-date and on top of your game. Learn more today!

In the past few years, shale gas has surfaced as an alternative energy source due to considerable advancements in the technology of its extraction and exploration. Although this method has been in the news as a controversial form of extraction for energy, it is still a method that has seen increasing use, particularly in the United States.

Shale gas is produced from shale and is a natural gas. It has become a more widely used form of natural gas, however, there is some controversy as to the effects on the environment from extraction and use. Due to recent advancements, shale gas can now be extracted by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and also horizontal drilling.

By far, Canada is the largest exporter of shale to the United States. The graph below illustrates that in Quarter 2 of 2011, we see the highest value of imports from Canada since Quarter 3 of 2008. Although there has been a large fluctuation in the import of shale, the overall trend is rising. As we continue to seek alternative energy sources, we will continue to see imports of shale.