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This week, Mexican potato growers engaged in a national strike against competition from the U.S., demanding that their government block imports. Their actions were part of a larger nationalistic agricultural strike in Mexico.
Videos circulated on social media sites of angry growers. They called for an immediate end to the legal importation of fresh potatoes from the U.S.
“These actions are clearly timed to impact the review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his first Administration. It is not surprising that these growers want to return to the monopoly they originally held on Mexico’s domestic market, allowing them to tightly control the supply of potatoes and causing prices to skyrocket on Mexican consumers,” said Kam Quarles, NPC CEO.
The U.S. fought a multi-decade battle to open Mexico to fresh potato exports, including winning a unanimous decision at the Mexican Supreme Court. Over the past three years that the market has been open, U.S. fresh exports have increased to $130 million annually, propelling Mexico to our top foreign trading partner.
SOURCE: NPC
