Nogales still leads ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border when it comes to importing fresh fruits and vegetables, but that lead shrank this season as distributors in Pharr, Texas gained ground.
Local produce distributors saw imports from Mexico jump 16 percent from the 2012 to 2013 seasons, but federal statistics from September to the end of April show local imports dipping slightly in the current season.
At the same time, distributors in Pharr and nearby Progreso, Texas are seeing 11 percent more truckloads of produce coming across the international bridge that connects the cities with Mexican growers, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News.
During the current season, Nogales’ share of Mexican produce imported into the United States fell from 38 percent to 36 percent. Meanwhile, the share held by Pharr and Progreso grew from 30 percent to 32 percent.
The volume of produce imported from Mexico remains gargantuan, with local distributors importing 4.18 billion pounds of produce from September to April, down slightly from 4.2 billion during the same eight-month stretch of the 2013 season. During that period, Pharr and Progreso saw imports rise from 3.33 billion pounds to 3.71 billion pounds.
