The recent New York Fancy Food Show which attracted large numbers of exhibitors and buyers – the organizing Specialty Food Association (SFA) said the show attracted some 2,500 exhibitors from 59 countries, a 14% jump over 2024, with an equally impressive gathering of 8,100 (+ 9%) buyers of food, beverages, desserts, edible oils, nuts, etc. – also gave buyers and sellers an opportunity to vent their feelings on the issue of U.S. tariffs.
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The U.S. is the world’s largest food-importing market in value terms. Indeed, specialty foods alone – and this does not include all the food segments – provide a market that is projected to reach $ 231 billion this year, according to the SFA. The show serves as an entry point to the lucrative U.S. market for many food exporters.
Tariffs Worry Canadian Food Suppliers
Canadian food exhibitors at the NYFFS could not hide their uncertainty over the impact of tariffs on their business.
Ajay Dewan, senior sales manager of Ontario Impex of Canada, Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, whose Indian food products are sold in many grocery stores in the U.S., said that Canada, a close U.S. ally, besides being a member of the trade pact USMCA, was concerned over President Trump’s tariffs. This had also impacted U.S. buyer confidence. However, the “silver lining”, Dewan pointed out, was that his products came under the USMCA’s tariff-exempt list, even though dairy products are not exempt from the tariffs. “Our best-selling product in the U.S. is paneer (Indian white cheese), although we cannot ship it tariff-free because it comes under the dairy category,” he said.
Ontario Impex of Canada, whose food products are marketed under the brand “Brars”, could increase its 2024 exports to the U.S. over the previous year. One “positive trend” observed since early 2025 was that buyers rushed to buy products from foreign suppliers before the tariff enforcement.
Patates 2000, a Quebec based company which supplies the Patates 2000 Poutine gravy sauce – the owner, George Polichronis, who has a culinary restaurant background, created the sauce which is now the company’s main selling product – was at the show to introduce the sauce to American and other buyers.
Asked to comment on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Polichronis said that “besides one gentleman, I have seen love and respect between Americans and Canadians”. He said that the sauce he sold was vegan though the “flavor is something like beef and chicken”. “It’s a plant-based product with herbs and spices,” he said, adding that the gravy was “very popular”, judging by the comments of people who had sampled it.
Patates 2000 exports to Mexico and has been negotiating with Vermont based Maplebrook and Ellsworth (Wisconsin). “We will place our products next to theirs in their stores so that the consumer can have a look at our products in both these shops,” Polichronis said, adding that his own products are not subject to tariffs. “But I strongly believe that any additional tariffs will only increase consumer prices.”
Are More Americans Drinking Tea?
The average American’s infatuation with coffee remains unchallenged by other beverages, but black and green tea varieties are also becoming increasingly popular. Indian tea which is slowly making a mark in the mainstream U.S. market, is no longer consumed only by the burgeoning South Asian diaspora with a proclivity for tea which serves not only as a beverage but also helps in social bonding.
Ravi Kota, the chief secretary of India’s northeastern state of Assam, highlighted the fact that tea has had a 200 year old heritage. Assam with its mountainous region and abundant rainfall provide a natural environment conducive for tea cultivation. “About 20% of Assam’s population depends on tea for livelihood,” Kota said, adding that 50% of tea grown in India originated from Assam. India produced a mind-boggling 1.38 billion kilograms in fiscal year 2024. “India’s tea exports to the U.S. amounted to some 123 million last year,” he said.
Arijit Raha, the secretary general of the India Tea Association, said that Indian tea exporters were also trying to promote “flavored tea varieties”, including tea infused with spices such as cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, etc. “India does not use synthetic flavors but only natural flavors with spices, ginger, cardamom, etc. “he said, adding that these varieties are “well received” by tea drinkers worldwide.
Bipul Upreti, business development manager of Tata Consumer Products (Export), said that Tata’s 2024 tea exports had amounted to roughly $ 5 million. “The U.S. is the biggest market for our largest-selling tea brand Tetley, followed by Tata Tea Gold,” he said.
On U.S. tariffs, Upreti admitted that “tariffs might have an impact but we are hopeful that the Indian Government would conclude a deal on a reasonable basis” so that India is “not priced out of the market”. India had still not finalized, as of late July, a deal with the U.S. though Indian interlocutors have visited the U.S. to conduct negotiations with their American counterparts.
The U.S. is an Attractive Market for Olive Oil
The rows and rows of olive oil exhibitors, particularly from Mediterranean and North African countries, were a testimony to the importance of this cooking ingredient in the American kitchen.
In an interview, Mehmet Emre Uygun, chairman of the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters’ Association, who also has his own olive-oil company called Monteida in Istanbul, recalled that Spain and other countries had faced bad weather conditions in 2023, a situation that benefited Turkish suppliers because of the latter’s overproduction.
“Turkish olive-oil exports to the U.S. increased to $ 200 million in 2023. In 2024, the situation stabilized … also because the Turkish government had restricted exports of bulk shipments due to shortages at home. Olive oil import prices will stabilize because production costs have comparatively declined,” Uygun said. The U.S. has emerged as the biggest buyer of Turkish olive oil. He said that U.S. tariffs were 10% as of now. “If tariffs increase for EU suppliers (Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece), then Turkish olive oil would have a price advantage,” he noted. The annual global Turkish olive oil exports amounted to $ 900 million.
Because of a “very good crop” in 2024, Turkish olive-oil suppliers emerged as the second largest producer of olive oil and the largest of table olives.
Meanwhile, the Association is sending an olive and olive-oil sectoral trade delegation of 17 Turkish companies, with the coordination of the Turkish Trade Ministry, to Canada between Sept.8-11, 2025 on a trade promotion visit.
Dubai Chocolates Are Becoming a Rage in the U.S.
Dubai Chocolates are becoming a familiar sight in many food and candy stores. Indeed, the ubiquitous visibility and growing popularity of these chocolate varieties can be attributed, as some chocolatiers say, to the rich flavor and ingredients of these chocolates which appeal to many American consumers who may have been drawn, initially, by a Tik Tok film presenting this unique chocolate.
The booth of Dubai-based DOFREEZE showcased a variety of its Flair brand chocolates. Alena Palmer, the company’s director of sales, received a steady stream of potential buyers who recognized Dubai Chocolates’ business potential in the U.S. market, even though the retail prices of these chocolates are much higher than those of other chocolates.
“We have been in operation since 1998 and supply in the mainstream bakery products … we export to over 50 countries, including the U.S. Our biggest markets are the U.K., Singapore, the Middle East, etc. The U.S. is a large and very promising market,” Palmer said in an interview, adding that her products were not affected by U.S. tariffs. The UAE is tariff-exempt.
European Food Suppliers Say that Tariffs Could Hit U.S. Consumers
The huge pavilions set up by European suppliers also witnessed informal exchanges on the tariff issue. European shippers pointed out that U.S. consumers would have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for the resulting price hikes, thanks to the 30% tariffs on European Union exports. The Italian wine producers’ association, known by its acronym UTV, described the expected 30% wine tariff as “virtually an embargo” on some 80% of Italian wine.
