Florida Ag Official Says Unfair Mexican Competition Costing Farmers 10-20% of Sales
A new report from the Florida Department of Agriculture says that unfair competition with Mexican imports of blueberries, strawberries, watermelons, bell peppers, sweet corn and tomatoes is costing Florida farmers at least $1.31 billion in lost sales, or 10%, and possibly as much as $2.63 billion, or 20%. The report says that in 2000, Florida farmers of these and other specialty crops sold $3.32 billion worth of produce and that by 2019, it was $2.87 billion. The report does say that from 2005 to 2013, Florida farmers had more revenue from sales than they had in 2000, but since the figures are not adjusted for inflation, that is still not good news for the sector.
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"With agriculture as Florida’s second largest industry, these unfair foreign trade practices and their devastating economic impact should be of grave concern to every single Floridian," Agriculture Secretary Nikki Fried said. She argues that antidumping laws should be changed so that Southeastern farmers can fight imports from Mexico where their growing seasons overlap.
The International Trade Commission conducted a safeguard investigation on blueberries, and found that there was no injury to domestic growers (see 2102110060). It is also doing fact-finding or monitoring on imports that affect Southeastern growers, covering bell peppers, strawberries, squash, cucumbers and raspberries.