Gardening Product Sales Bloom in Springtime

Spring is here, awakening the inner gardener in many of us.

Every year, both commercial and professional landscapers use millions of dollars in gardening products to beautify businesses, parks and homes. Landscaping can raise curb appeal and increase property values.

As a result, the gardening industry remains a lucrative market that spans multiple continents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s USA Trade Online, which provides data on U.S. imports and exports.

In 2019, the United States exported $990.2 million in fertilizers, $669.3 million in lawnmowers and $20.2 million in chemical herbicides.

In 2017, there were 747 U.S. fertilizer manufacturers with sales, value of shipments or revenues over $16.9 billion.  

So where did all these fertilizers, lawnmowers and chemical herbicides go?

The United States exports the largest quantities of these commodities to the following countries:  

You can access the data by using the first four or six digits of the products’ Schedule B number.

• Fertilizer, for example, is heading 3104 — “Mineral or chemical fertilizers, potassic.”
• Lawnmowers are under the subheading 8433.11 — “Mowers for lawns, parks or sports grounds.”
• Herbicides and plant growth chemicals are under the subheading 3808 — “Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators...”

Imports: 2019 Totals

• Fertilizers: $2.9 billion
• Lawnmowers: $597.9 million
• Chemical Herbicides: $7.4 million

The Census Bureau's interactive Global Market Finder tool below helps to quickly analyze export markets by product and destination.