National Potato Council Fresh Potatoes To Mexico Hold Great Potential For Industry

The first shipments of U.S. fresh potatoes made their way through the Mexican border and to Mexican consumers this month, wrapping up one of the longest trade disputes in USDA history. For over 25 years, regulatory and legal obstructions have kept U.S. potatoes out of most of Mexico. However that changed after the Mexican Supreme Court unanimously ruled last year against its own government, stating that U.S. fresh potatoes were legally authorized to be imported.

Mark Szymanski with the National Potato Council called the development a great first step, but trade officials and growers should still be wary early on. Szymanski said he's a little worried about erroneous pest and disease claims from the Mexican potato industry as well as small, incidental non-tariff barriers to trade.

"We're getting out of the courts and into more of the government inspection arena where if they aren't fully committed to this trade they can cause real problems for the future."

$394 million in U.S. potatoes and products made it to the Mexican market in 2021, making Mexico the largest export market for U.S. potato products last year. Szymanski added that opening Mexico to U.S. fresh potato imports will greatly benefit the U.S. industry.

"Mexico doesn't have an adequate supply of potatoes to serve their own consumer base. We think by adding our supply to what the Mexican growers already produce it's going to increase demand across Mexico."

U.S. producers were technically able to sell U.S. fresh potatoes prior to the Mexican Supreme Court decision, but sales were limited to a 16-mile border region. While that accounts for a relatively small area, the U.S. sent roughly $60 million in fresh potato exports to the region last year. Full access to the Mexican market is expected to bring an additional $150-200 million a year in exports. That jump in fresh potatoes heading over the border is estimated to mean a 10-15% increase in total global exports for the industry.

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