A Profile of Firms Engaged in Fruit and Vegetable Trade Between the United States and Latin America

This research analyzed characteristics of 109 firms engaged in international fruit and vegetable trade. A Probit model was used to determine the probability that a firm was of U.S. or Latin American origin. Results indicated that firms were rather homogenous, similar in structure, market outlets, and price setting information and strategies. Historically, U.S. fruit and vegetable exports What has become more important is the elimina-have been largely for Canadian destinations but in tion of nontariff barriers according to a survey of recent years, exports of fruits and vegetables have 109 firms actively involved in the fruit and vege-expanded to other regions of the world. In a ten- table trade. year period, U.S. exports of fruits and vegetables increased from $2.6 billion in 1984 to $8.1 billion Objectives in 1994, an increase of 211 percent. These exports now represent 18.6 percent by value and 5.2 per- The objectives of this study were (1) to de-cent by volume of total agricultural exports. Im- scribe the characteristics of a sample of U.S. and ports have also increased from $2.9 billion in Latin American firms engaged in the international 1984 to $7.3 billion in 1994, which represents fruit and vegetable trade, (2) to describe barrier