There’s been plenty of recent discussion about America’s growing agricultural trade deficit, which is projected to reach a record-breaking $45.5 billion in 2025. However, policymakers must recognize the real driver of the deficit and how we could balance it from within our own borders. The U.S. is on track to run a trade deficit for five of the last seven years, and it’s time for a change.   

The consolidation of our food and farm system, combined with the government’s prioritization of commodity crops, has made it increasingly difficult for our farmers to supply us with nutritious food crops like fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. 

Currently, the U.S. government uses taxpayer money to prop up the production of corn and soybeans used for livestock feed and ethanol and to create sugars, starches, and oils that end up in highly processed foods.

The most recently available farm subsidy data shows that most government subsidies go toward commodity crop production, while a glaring 4% goes toward fruit and vegetable production. One needs to look no further than USDA’s classification of fruits and vegetables as “specialty crops” to understand their current priority level.

Due to this unbalanced government support, fruit and vegetable farmers are struggling to stay afloat if they are even able to stay in business at all. As a result, we are becoming increasingly dependent on foreign countries to provide our fruits and vegetables, driving our agricultural trade deficit. Many claim that we are “feeding the world,” but the fact is we are not even feeding ourselves. 

Imports are making up a growing share of our fruit and vegetable supply, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As of 2021, we imported 60% of our fresh fruit and 38% of our vegetables. In 2019, we imported $15.7 billion worth of fruits and vegetables from Mexico; in 2023, that amount increased to $21 billion. Meanwhile, domestic production of fruits and vegetables has been declining for decades.

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The U.S. government’s lagging support of fruit and vegetable production compared to commodity crops is reflected in America’s public health.

In our current food system, fresh produce is more expensive and more difficult to access than unhealthy, processed foods. Subsidies help keep prices low, so they eventually determine what kind of food will be accessible and affordable to citizens. But even if the 80–90% of Americans who aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables shifted their diets, our current food system would be unable to meet the demand. Our reliance on imported food is a national security issue.

To balance the agricultural trade deficit, the farm bill must better support producers growing specialty crops like fruits and vegetables.

Even though the soybean industry receives substantially more government support, its industry value is estimated at 20% lower than that of fruits and vegetables. Our research found that shifting less than 0.5% of current farm acreage to fruit and vegetable production could balance this past fiscal year’s $32 billion agricultural trade deficit due to the food crops’ higher value. 

We are wrongly focused on growing and exporting low-value crops that don’t feed us and then counting on other countries to supply the high-value, healthy food crops that we rely on. Current farm bill priorities are forcing us to outsource what we could grow ourselves. 

Going into next year, Farm Action will continue fighting for a farm bill that prioritizes America’s food security, national security, and our public health by shifting more farm support to specialty crop producers. 

Angela Huffman is a co-founder and president of Farm Action. She has spent more than a decade in food and agriculture policy reform and market development.