Pi Day: U.S. production of seven popular pie ingredients valued at $6.6 billion

March 14 is known as Pi Day because the date resembles the mathematical constant π, roughly equal to 3.14. For that reason, many celebrate the day by enjoying their favorite type of pie. In 2023, the United States grew $6.6 billion worth of seven popular fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts often used as the main ingredient in pie making. The value of production of these seven commodities in 2023, as measured by U.S. cash receipts, was the highest for apples, which are produced abundantly in the United States both in terms of volume and production value. The U.S. apple crop exceeded $3.0 billion in 2023, whereas production of blueberries reached nearly $1.1 billion. Cash receipts for other fruit pie ingredients, cherries and peaches, were valued at $675 million and $656 million, respectively. Pecans, a tree nut, were valued at $515 million in terms of U.S. cash receipts. The pear crop of 2023 was valued at $365 million, while production of pumpkins, the fall icon and mainstay of the holiday table, was valued at $235 million. For more data on specialty crop production, see USDA, Economic Research Service’s Fruit and Tree Nuts and Vegetable and Pulses Yearbook Tables.