Posts Tagged “Mexican fruit and vegetable imports”
Texas produce and Mexican produce shipments will be gaining steam in the weeks ahead.
The Texas International Produce Association of Mission, TX reports Lone Star State citrus is starting; plus Texas herbs are being harvested and Texas cabbage will be available soon.
Onions are in the ground and Mexican imports of tomatoes, berries, tropical fruit, squash, bell peppers and more will be increasing.
Texas green and red cabbage started within the past week and Grow Farms Texas of Donna, TX will have Texas-grown onions for shipping in April and May.
The company has planted more Texas cabbage and is looking to expand its Texas onion volume. Grow Farms Texas has Italian sweet red onions planted for harvest in late April and May, depending on the weather.
Little Bear Produce of Edinburg, TX has leafy green, herbs and cabbage beginning in November.
Mexican Produce Imports
Mexican infrastructure has been off the charts allowing Texas as an additional port of entry option to Nogales.
Central Mexico is closer to the U.S. East Coast allowing the firm more a year-round option for many items.
“This upcoming season Grow Farms Texas will be increasing its Mexico winter vegetables.
The company will have good supplies of cucumbers, bell peppers, jalapeños, serranos, anaheims and poblanos. Cucumbers started the first week of November, while bell peppers are starting in mid-December. Hot peppers are available year-round from Mexico and has provided big growth.
Beating both Pharr, Texas, and Nogales, Ariz., the port of Laredo, Texas, was the top entry point for Mexican tomatoes from October 2019 to September.
With 13,238 truckloads, Laredo beat Pharr’s total of 9,760 (40,000-pound) truckloads and the 9,726 truckloads crossings through Nogales, according to the USDA.
Other important crossing points for Mexican tomatoes during the period were Otay Mesa, CA (1,798 truckloads); and Roma, Texas (1,498 truckloads).
Texas citrus shipments from the Lower Rio Grande Valley are underway.
Shipping started the first full week of October and will continue until April. While volume is still light, it is increasing and should be “normal” heading into November.
The Lower Rio Grande Valley has about 28,000 acres of citrus trees. With new plantings, over 30,000 of trees or expected in the next few years. These new plantings should result in greater yields, which could mean a 10 percent increase in potential shipments over the next several years. About eight million cartons are expected to be shipped this year.
Broken down, those eight million cartons are comprised of about 75 percent red grapefruit and 25 percent oranges. Last year, Texas shipped about 7.8 million cartons of citrus.
Though some groves are still coming out of production, the Texas citrus industry is gaining acreage.
Two devastating freezes in the 1980s, urbanization, marketing conditions and other factors drastically reduced the number of acres devoted to citrus in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, where grapefruit flourished for decades. But in the past decade, investment in the industry has been on the rise, which has led to some consolidation and increased plantings.
Mexican fruit and vegetable imports at Pharr, Tx, plus South Texas citrus – grossing about $2400 to Chicago.