They told me "The best grapes never make it out of the village. The next best grapes never make it out of the region. The next best grapes never make it out of the country."
Wine was probably a terrible example, being a less perishable good suited for transport, but the quip always stuck with me. No idea the origin.
We (city folk) assume that the best agricultural output is exported, but... why would it be?
The price differential for quality likely isn't very large, local consumption is relatively modest compared to output, and cap that off with the freshness timer.
The best wine I've ever had was in the French countryside. The best beef I've had was in a dirty road place in the middle of cow country. The best salmon I've had was in Seattle. The best sushi I've had was behind Tsukiji (when they still did wholesale fish there).
Eat local is as much about quality as it is other things.
For the same reason everything else is exported. Its value somewhere else is higher than its local value.
Sometimes it's better to have good wine and one less euro, than another euro and worse wine.
Oregon's berries are no joke.
Since they cannot travel or be kept in inventory, they will never be available fresh more than about 50 miles from where they are grown.