Posts Tagged “south Texas”

South Texas is Taking Bigger Share of Mexican Produce Imports

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In recent years Texas has been accounting for a growing share of Mexican imports.

Grow Farms Texas of Donna notes volume gains range from Mexican berries to broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and celery and the company believes this is only the beginning..

USDA statistics reveal 2019 crossings of Mexican open field tomatoes were twice as high in Pharr, Texas, compared with Nogales, Ariz., and crossings of Mexican adapted environment-grown tomatoes were just 9 percent less in Pharr than in Nogales.

An important factor in the growth of Mexican imports through South Texas is the proximity to population centers, especially in the eastern half of the U.S.

In the next five to 10 years, Grow Farm Texas believes avocados will continue to grow along with tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, lettuce and bell peppers.

USDA reports market shares for U.S. ports of entry for select commodities show:

  • Avocados: Nogales, Ariz., 2 percent; Pharr, Texas, 45 percent; Tampa, Fla. (boat), 1 percent; Laredo, Texas, 51 percent, Otay Mesa, Calif., 1 percent; Progreso, Texas, 1 percent.
  • Cauliflower: Pharr, Texas, 58 percent; Otay Mesa, Calif., 9 percent; Rio Grande City, Texas, 26 percent; Nogales, Ariz., 7 percent.
  • Watermelon: Progreso, Texas, 21 percent; Rio Grande City, Texas, 3 percent;  Pharr, Texas, 1 percent; Nogales, Ariz, 72 percent.

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Cruisin’ Down a Mexican Highway Means More Loads in South Texas

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DSCN0252After several delays, the Autopista Durango-Mazatlan highway, a 143-mile road from the growing regions of west Mexico to Texas ports of entry, now is expected to open sometime during the first half of 2014.

If you haul produce out of South Texas, this is significant.

It is open, but there are still sections of the road that are not 100 percent  complete.

The route’s 1,280-foot-high Baluarte Bridge already has been completed.   It is the highest bridge in North America and the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world, according to the website highestbridges.com.

There is no need for trucks to travel up and down the mountain, because they bridges allows the 18 wheelers to go through  the mountain.

The highway between Durango and the coastal city of Mazatlan has 61 tunnels and seven bridges that exceed 300 feet in height.

Nearly two-thirds of the produce Texas ships to the rest of the country comes from Mexico.

That only will increase when the new road opens, allowing Mexican growers to easily move product from growing areas in west Mexico to the eastern part of the country in an efficient manner.

Historically it has been impossible  to do this because of the mountain ranges.  However, the  new road system flattens out the trip and making it  entirely feasible for big rigs.

The shortcut should allow Mexican shippers and U.S. importers to save $2,000 when they ship a load east of the Rockies through Texas rather than Arizona or California.

Besides importing Mexican product, shippers may bring in Asian products shipped to deep water ports in west Mexico.  This would allow importers to avoid Southern California’s Long Beach-Los Angeles harbor area, which is expensive and frustrating.

Completion of the road could boost south Texas to become the business port of entry for produce.  Traditionally, Nogales, Ariz., has held the number one spot.

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