While making no recommendations, the U.S. International Trade Commission has issued reports showing big effects of U.S. imports of squash and cucumbers on the domestic market.
The 182-page report on squash and the 222-page report on cucumbers highlighted statistics showing a surge in imports in recent years. The ITC issued the reports at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative. The reports focused on how imports influenced the production and competitiveness of cucumbers grown in the U.S. Southeast, according to the ITC.
The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) said the reports confirm that trade relief is “urgently needed” to protect American food security.
In the reports, the ITC reported:
- Between 2015 and 2020, cucumber production in the U.S. fell from approximately 826,000 metric tons (mt) to 636,000 mt, while U.S. domestic market share fell from around half to about 40%. At the same time, apparent consumption of cucumbers in the United States increased by 24.3%.
- Absent above-average increases in U.S. imports of squash from Mexico between 2009 and 2019, the ITC’s economic model estimates that import prices would have been higher, leading to a shift toward consumption of domestic squash and increased U.S. production, revenue and operating income between 2015 and 2020.
The FFVA issued a statement about the ITC reports, published below in full:
“For decades, unfair trade practices from Mexico and other foreign sources have caused immense harm to produce growers in Florida and across the country. The findings revealed in the recent reports from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on the effect of cucumber and squash imports on American farmers unfortunately confirm what other studies have shown and what we see in the field every day: Trade relief is urgently needed to protect American food security.
In fact, these reports support what economists and the industry have said all along: surging volumes of fresh fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico have impacted domestic production, U.S. jobs and more over the last several years. Mexico’s exports have been supercharged by unfair, race-to-the-bottom Mexican pricing, two decades of Mexican government funding for protected agriculture, agricultural equipment and more, and Mexican wage rates barely one tenth of those in the United States.
It’s a story that has been told time and time again, study after study; yet, Mexican imports continue to cripple growers of fruits and vegetables in Florida, and continued inaction by the federal government is causing further devastation.
Other Florida produce sectors, including bell peppers, are also facing harmful impacts and a highly uncertain future due to unfair imports. Two recent reports from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service have documented the extraordinary challenges that domestic growers are experiencing amidst surging imports from Mexico.
Put simply, our U.S.-grown food supply is at risk. While we commend the International Trade Commission for working to help solve this longstanding and growing threat to the Southeast produce industry, now is the time to act. Immediate, effective, swift relief is needed to give our Florida produce growers a future and ensure that a U.S.-grown produce supply is available to American families during the fall, winter and spring months of the year.”
Related links:
Florida releases new report showing $4 billion economic impact of unfair Mexican imports
