US Packaged Food Market is Holding up in 2020

Imports generally show stable YoY trends and positive performances for meat and fish, rice, pasta, oil and bakery products

.

Food&Beverage Great Lockdown Conjuncture Check performance Foreign markets Foreign market analysis

Log in to use the pretty print function and embed function.
Aren't you signed up yet? signup!

The most recent data made available by the US Bureau of Statistics (US Census Bureau) allow to document the resilience of US imports of Packaged Food.


Q3-2020 trade data, available in the ExportPlanning Information System (see US Trade Datamart), have been estimated using nowcasting techniques, on the basis of historical data up to July 2020. Overall, historical data and estimates suggest that, in the first three quarters of 2020, the US packaged food market is holding up.

Stable demand for packaged food products on the US market in the first 3 quarters of 2020

According to our estimates for the first three quarters of 2020, US imports of Packaged Food and Beverage2 prove quite stable (-1.1% in USD), while the estimate falls a bit deeper into negative territory focusing on the period July-September, with a slight 1.4% contraction2.

Positive trends for rice and pasta, confectionery, oil and seasonings and baked goods

In the first three quarters of 2020, the US Packaged Food and Beverage market has been penalized by the fall in the Beverage segment (-$1.7 billion compared to the same period of 2019): in particular, imports of Alcholic beverages3 were down by more than 8% in cumulative terms (-$1.3 billion compared to 2019) and those of Water and non-alcoholic beverages4 were down by almost 7% (-$315 million). Nonetheless, the market has shown widespread positive contributions from imports of:

  • Meat and fish (processed and packaged)5: +$253.7 million (+2.6% YoY in cumulative terms)
  • Rice, pasta and flour (packaged)6: +$241.2 million (+11.2%)
  • Vegetables and fruit (processed and packaged)7: +$224.9 million (+4.8%)
  • Sugar, chocolate, sweets and ice cream8: +$199.4 million (+6.0%)
  • Cookies and other baked goods9: +$88.6 million (+2.1%)
  • Oil, condiments and spices10: +$81.9 million (+2.4%)
  • Tea and coffee (packaged)11: +$77.0 million (+4.7%)

To conclude, our estimates show that several segments of the Packaged Food industry appear relatively sheltered from the current crisis, although penalized by the effects of the pandemic.

(1) Please refer to the related methodological note.
(2) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(3) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(4) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(5) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(6) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(7) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(8) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(9) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(10) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.
(11) See the list of the products included in the related industry description.