Mexican judge orders a ban on fresh U.S. potatoes
See updated story -- SAGARPA expected to appeal ruling against fresh U.S. potatoes
A federal judge in Mexico has ordered SAGARPA, the Mexican department of agriculture, to stop the import of fresh U.S. potatoes.
The National Potato Council, Washington, D.C., is waiting for details on the Aug. 4 decision, including whether it affects the 26-kilometer zone where U.S. tablestock potatoes are allowed.
The judge listed concerns about pests among reasons for the ruling.
“We still have a lot of questions,” said John Keeling, executive vice president and CEO of the National Potato Council. “What we do know is that it’s a little bit frightening in terms of having a judge step in and overrule the phytosanitary authority in the country based on a set of ideas about food security or whatever, so we’re concerned.
“I think if that’s the direction Mexico goes, it will be troubling to the entire relationship with the U.S.,” Keeling said.
The National Potato Council has attorneys investigating the ruling, but in the meantime it is telling U.S. potato shippers to talk with customers about the situation.
“They need to work closely with their receiver down there and make sure that, before they put a shipment on the road, that they’re taking a look, we get some sort of definitive statement from SAGARPA about what the impact of this really is,” Keeling said.
The council has long been interested in selling more to Mexico but has dealing with legal barriers for years.
“Mexico’s a big trading partner in terms of the amount of frozen product that we ship down there, but fresh has a tremendous potential to grow if we were allowed to get into the market,” Keeling said. “And the science ... there’s no disagreement that potatoes can be shipped down there safely. This is about other things.”
The potato issue has previously been linked to avocados.
Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture officially agreed in May 2016 to allow avocados grown in the Mexican state of Jalisco, shipments this January were halted at the border in Texas. Some officials in Mexico said the approval of Jalisco imports was tied to opening all of Mexico to fresh U.S. potatoes, but other reports said it was due to a lack of a USDA Work Plan.
