Concern about expanding opportunities for North Carolina has sparked interest in food processing. Growth in food processing is seen by some as away of increasing the demand for agricultural output. This report documents the growth in the fruit and vegetable food processing sector in North Carolina during the last three decades, and contrasts this growth to the performance of the same sector 1ft the rest of the nation. Significant growth in the North Carolina sector is observed, especially during the 1980s. Also, as a percentage of the state economy, the sector has grown faster in North Carolina since 1980 than the sector has in the nation as a percentage of. the national economy. Nevertheless, the relative size of the North Carolina sector is only half the relative size of the national sector.