Latest News From Mexico

Beets, cabbage, greens, herbs, parsley, potatoes, radishes and spinach are some of the produce crops Texas produce suppliers will be shipping in December.

Shipments of Mexican produce to the U.S. increased at a double-digit rate in the second quarter this year, a transportation report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture reveals.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is asking the International Trade Commission to monitor and investigate imports of strawberries and bell peppers, following requests by Florida groups.

Magic Sun, Richmond, Va., known as a grower of conventional and organic tomatoes, is expanding to include blueberries, with plans to quickly ramp up production.

The Florida Tomato Exchange is keeping tabs on Mexican tomato imports through a new website, TomatoMonitor.com.

The Mexican Association of Protected Horticulture — AMHPAC — has a new date for its annual convention.

Alvaro Luque, president and CEO of Avocados from Mexico, is The Packer’s 2020 Produce Marketer of the Year.

Members of the South Texas produce industry joined others at the Pharr International Bridge to kick off the start of the import season, when the volume of trucks crossing the bridge significantly increases.

Mexican avocado production and exports to the U.S. will increase again in 2020-21, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Mexican tomato exports to the U.S. in 2020-21 are expected to increase 2% compared with 2019-20 levels, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report.

The Food and Drug Administration and its counterparts in Mexico are taking steps to strengthen collaboration on food safety, from outbreak investigations to training and outbreak prevention measures.

As promised, the USTR has requested that the International Trade Commission investigate whether increased imports of blueberries have caused, or threaten to cause, harm to domestic blueberry growers.

Amado, Ariz.-based Wholesum is introducing top-seal packaging for its organic tomatoes-on-the-vine. 

Global conventional and organic berry supplier Giddings Fruit has opened an office in Monterey, Calif., through its subsidiary, Giddings Berries USA.

Students from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley are working paid internships alongside Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists, inspecting fresh produce from Mexico.

Construction has begun on a $40 million project to cut wait times for produce and other agricultural goods at a busy Texas port of entry.

Customs and Border Protection officers in South Texas have made another multi-million seizure of drugs piggy-backing into the U.S. in a commercial load of fresh produce from Mexico, this time avocados.

California Citrus Mutual is commending the Trump administration plan to protect domestic growers of seasonal produce.

The Trump administration plans to take steps to protect U.S. growers of seasonal produce against what it calls threats of increased imports.

Georgia produce growers, the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and other groups recently testified to federal agencies that domestic growers face a “staggering increase" of produce from Mexico.

Customs and Border Protection officers at the Otay Mesa border entry in California found $3.3 million in methamphetamine hidden in crates of cactus pads, the second such discovery in less than a week.

U.S. growers, trade groups, Florida officials and members of Congress testified virtually in front of federal agencies that imports, mostly targeting Mexico, are increasingly making harder for U.S. farms to survive.

Officers stopped a load of produce crossing into the U.S. at Pharr, Texas, and found almost $20 million in meth — bringing the total seizures of the drug at that port to more than $70 million in recent weeks.

Avocado volume from Mexico has been similar to last year, and shipments will continue to increase over the next several weeks, grower-shippers say.

Customs and Border Protection officers stopped a load of broccoli containing $16.1 million of methamphetamine as it crossed into Texas.

Avocados From Mexico has been named to Fast Company’s second annual Best Workplaces for Innovators list.

Federal trade and agriculture officials have rescheduled hearings for growers to testify on how foreign trade is harming U.S. agriculture, with a focus on the effects of Mexican produce imports on southwest growers.

Customs and Border Production officers in Pharr, Texas, intercepted a commercial load of Mexican onions with $30.5 million worth of suspected methamphetamine in the trailer.

Bayer is partnering with Israeli artificial intelligence data analytics company Prospera Technologies Inc. in a program the companies say will optimize profitability and sustainability of greenhouse growing.

Drought conditions in Mexico’s citrus regions have cut the country’s 2020 orange crop potential by nearly half, but fresh citrus shipments to the U.S. will only suffer minor reductions, according to the USDA.

The Mexican grape season has been ramping up and the number of available varieties keeps on growing, even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold in the U.S.

El Grupo Crespo, which markets mangoes under the Crespo Organic and RCF brands in the U.S., has opened its packinghouse in El Rosario, Sinaloa, Mexico for the season.

Awe Sum Organics, Santa Cruz, Calif., will be starting its Mexican table grape program in mid-May.

Officers with the Customs and Border Protection at the Pharr (Texas) International Bridge cargo facility recently found more than two tons of marijuana hidden in a shipment of bananas.

The U.S. Department will start inspecting Mexican tomatoes entering the U.S. on April 4, as part of the suspension agreement with the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

Arizona Customs and Border Protection officers made a record methamphetamine seizure when a commercial truckload of tomatoes and peppers attempted to cross into the U.S.

The Customs and Border Protection is reminding members of the public traveling through ports of entry to be aware of what produce and other food is prohibited from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

Canada’s House of Commons and Senate voted in favor of implementing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, one of the final hurdles before it becomes law.

The Sonora Spring Summit has been postponed because of coronavirus COVID-19, but the main focus of the program, an outlook of the Mexican grape crop, will be presented online as scheduled.

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas and its members are welcoming the start of work on the Mariposa Road project, the main road bringing fresh Mexican produce into Nogales, Ariz.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited the Florida Strawberry Festival and hosted a roundtable with industry members, where concerns over fair trade were voiced.

The Office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has scheduled hearings for growers to talk about concerns of unfair competition with Mexican products.

Rico Farms has opened what it calls a biofactory at its Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, to manufacture products designed to boost farmland fertility.

El Grupo Crespo, which markets Crespo-brand mangoes, has opened its packing facility in Chiapas, packing and shipping organic mangoes from the facility.

The Mexican asparagus and Brussels sprouts deals have reached promotable volumes for Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Southern Specialties.

Calavo Growers Inc. is expanding its round and roma tomato operations in southern Jalisco by 25%, said Brian Bernauer, director of operations and sales.

Supplies of fresh produce from Mexico will remain tight for a while, and f.o.b. prices will be higher than customers are used to paying, distributors say. Wicked weather is the culprit.

Federal and state agencies in Arizona and Texas are gearing up for the start of mandatory U.S. inspections of Mexican tomatoes on April 1, but worries remain about possible bottlenecks for all produce.

Produce Lovers, a Mexican grower and distributor, recently celebrated the grand opening of its blueberry facility in Tala, Jalisco, Mexico.

Berry growers and trade associations in the U.S., Mexico and South America are pledging to use 100% recycle-ready packaging for all fresh berries by 2025.