US potato farmers preparing for Mexico opening

Dec 27, 2021 at 07:26 AM CST
After nearly 25 years of export bans, U.S. potato farmers could begin to distribute and sell more fresh potatoes across all of Mexico by early 2022. American potato farmers and exporters currently are barred from selling fresh potatoes in Mexico due to restrictions by the Mexican government, namely that U.S. growers can only sell them within about a 16-mile zone across the Mexican border. “It’s been kind of a 25-year-long trade issue between the U.S. and Mexico,” Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council, told FreightWaves. “It took about the last 15 years for the U.S. and Mexico to negotiate between the two governments over issues like pests and disease, issues that Mexico was worried about.”

Dec 27, 2021 at 07:26 AM CST

After nearly 25 years of export bans, U.S. potato farmers could begin to distribute and sell more fresh potatoes across all of Mexico by early 2022. American potato farmers and exporters currently are barred from selling fresh potatoes in Mexico due to restrictions by the Mexican government, namely that U.S. growers can only sell them within about a 16-mile zone across the Mexican border. “It’s been kind of a 25-year-long trade issue between the U.S. and Mexico,” Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council, told FreightWaves. “It took about the last 15 years for the U.S. and Mexico to negotiate between the two governments over issues like pests and disease, issues that Mexico was worried about.”