How Many of Our Foods are from China?
November 20, 2010

Diane Sawyer's evening news reports this week centered on China, the culture and the business. What most of us are about to discover is that China is now the third largest source of combined U.S. agricultural and seafood imports, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). U.S. imports of Chinese agricultural and seafood products increased roughly fourfold, from $1 billion in 1997 to $4.9 billion in 2007!

According to the USDA's Economic Research Service, China has emerged as a major exporter of a wide range of food products. China's capital investment in processing facilities helped to achieve its export status, as illustrated by the remarkable growth in their apple juice concentrate exports since the '90s. In 1998, Chinese fruit juice exports to the United States were valued below $30,000. The value of these imports soared above $356.8 million in 2009, making China the largest exporter of fruit juices - mainly apple - to the United States. Today, two-thirds of our apple juice now comes from China.

In 2009, seafood imports from China accounted for 517 thousand metric tons or 22 percent of the total U.S. imports. Twenty five percent of whole fish imports now come from China. In 1978, China accounted for 14 percent of frozen fish filets... just 30 years later, China accounted for 49 percent!

Produce imports from China grew from $2 million in 1998 to almost $75.4 million in 2009 and China was the second largest source of U.S. preserved vegetable imports in 2007, with a total import share valued at 20 percent.

It is ever important to read food labels to understand where your food is coming from. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is mandatory on retail products including, whole and ground (single ingredient) beef, goat, lamb, chicken and pork, as well as wild and farm-raised fish and shell fish, and nuts including peanuts, pecans, macadamia nuts and ginseng; so read the labels carefully. One good resource to use is Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch which highlights which species are best from which sources around the globe.

Posted by Clay Kohut at 12:00 AM - Link to this entry  |  Share this entry  |  Print

Higher grocery prices to bite Thanksgiving
November 20, 2010

Higher prices for supermarket staples like meat, vegetables, butter, eggs, milk and bread threaten to take a bite out of this year's Thanksgiving dinner plans, a survey showed on Thursday.

Almost 70 percent of U.S. shoppers have seen grocery prices rise in the past few weeks, according to an online survey of 637 people conducted for Reuters by SupermarketGuru.com, a website that spots trends and helps shoppers make informed food decisions.

Those higher prices have one-in-four respondents planning major changes to their Thanksgiving dinners. Almost 20 percent said they would prepare less food, while 15 percent said they intended to eat the traditional turkey dinner at a friend's or family member's house.

"It appears that many shoppers already have noted 'sticker shock' in the supermarket aisles," said Phil Lempert, SupermarketGuru.com's editor. He expects grocery prices to keep rising at least through Spring 2011.

Costs for U.S. food staples are rising after tumbling during the financial downturn. Still, supermarket operators have been reporting weak to nonexistent inflation.

That's partly because packaged food makers have been reluctant to pass their higher costs to a public scarred by job losses and reduced home and investment wealth.

Those trends were reflected in the survey results. Respondents most often reported seeing higher prices for items like beef, vegetables, butter, eggs, chicken, milk, bread, coffee, cheese, fruit and bacon.

Eighty-five percent said they were buying sale items to compensate for the higher food prices.

Lempert said that means diners should expect this year's Thanksgiving table to be a potpourri of mismatched foods and side dishes.

"Sure, the basics will all be there -- the turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes -- but expect some of the other nonessentials to be chosen on price, not tradition," he said.

Recent news also suggests that shoppers should have plenty of sales to choose from.

Grocery chain Supervalu Inc in October said it was preparing a new round of price cuts to win back lost customers, crushing hopes that the grocery industry could end a price war that has dented profits in the last few years.

Other money-saving solutions cited by shoppers include using coupons, making lists and shopping multiple stores.

Slightly more than two-thirds of shoppers said they were buying cheaper food and 11 percent said they were eating less.

Results from a separate survey conducted on Reuters' behalf showed that more people plan to give food or restaurant gift cards as holiday gifts this year than in 2009, underscoring the economic straits of many people in the United States.

Posted by Clay Kohut at 12:00 AM - Link to this entry  |  Share this entry  |  Print