By Dee-Ann Durbin
Guacamole has been spared prices for the moment. But salsa may not be as lucky.
While President Donald Trump has put threatened prices on Mexican lawyers on the break, the US government plans to put a right of almost 21% on fresh Mexican tomatoes from July 14. A right – like a price – is a tax on imports, and it would have an impact on the 4 billion pounds of tomatoes, American imports from Mexico from Mexico.
Supporters say that the import tax will help rebuild the American tomato tomato industry and ensure that products eaten in the United States are also cultivated. Mexico currently provides around 70% of the US tomato market, compared to 30% two decades ago, according to Florida Tomato Exchange.
“Unless we even have the playing conditions in terms of fair price, you will not have a national industry for fresh tomatoes in the very close future,” said Robert Guenther, executive vice-president of the commercial group. Florida and California are the best American tomato producers, but most of the California harvest is transformed into sauces and other products.
Opponents say that duty will make fresh tomatoes more expensive for American buyers. Naturalsweet, a company based in San Antonio which cultivates tomatoes in Mexico as well as in the United States, said that it would pay millions of dollars each month if the decision was not reversed.
“We will seek ways to adapt or rationalize our operations, but the truth is that we always do it, we are already directing an effective business,” said Skip Hulett, legal director of Natureweet. “Products are not a big margin company. We determine the part of the cost we could absorb, but these additional costs will most certainly have to be passed on to the consumer. ”
Tim Richards, professor at the Arizona State University Morrison School of Agribusiness, expects the US prices for tomatoes to increase by around 10.5% if the obligation takes place.
The Mexican government said last month that he was convinced that he could negotiate on the issue. But if the tomato tax takes effect, the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum has suggested that her country could impose rights to chicken and pork imported from the United States
The showdown on the tomatoes has a long history. In 1996, shortly after the entry into force of the North American free trade agreement, the American Ministry of Commerce investigated the allegations that Mexico exported tomatoes in the United States at artificially low prices, a practice known as the spill.
The American government has agreed to suspend the investigation if Mexico has respected certain rules, in particular by selling its tomatoes at a minimum price. Since then, the agreement has been the subject of periodic revisions, but the two parties have always concluded an agreement which avoided the functions.
But last month, the trade department announced its withdrawal from the last agreement, saying that it was “flooded comments” from American tomato producers who want better protection against Mexican imports.
Guenther, from Florida Tomato Exchange, said that even if Mexican exporters were to charge a minimum price, shipments are only verified the exporters can bypass this. But more generally, Mexico hurts the American industry because it costs 40% to 50% less to grow tomatoes, said Guenther. The earth is cheaper, the work is cheaper and inputs like seeds and fertilizers cost cheaper, he said.
Tomatoes are a harvest with a high intensity of labor, said Guenther, and the American industry is generally based on immigrant workers as part of the H-2A visa program. This program forced farmers to pay on average $ 16.98 per hour last year, an amount that jumped as workforce has become more difficult to find. Richards estimates that workers from Mexican tomato farms earn approximately one tenth of this rate.
Naturalsweet recognizes that it is more profitable to grow tomatoes in Mexico, but says that climate is one of the biggest reasons. The Mexican greenhouses of the company do not need lighting, heating or cooling systems due to weather conditions all year round.
“You can move certain industries, but you cannot move climate agriculture,” said Hulett.
Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which represents importers of Mexican tomatoes, said that Florida does not produce vine tomatoes that American consumers are increasingly favorable. Florida tomatoes are picked when they are green and shipped in warehouses to mature, he said.
“Florida does not push the types of specialized tomatoes that have taken off, but they want to get protection,” said Jungmeyer. “Their market share decreases for reasons of their choice.”
Guenther does not agree. “If you put a Florida tomato against a Mexican tomato, I think it would do the taste test very well,” he said.
Adrian Burciaga, co -owner of Don Artemio, a high -end Mexican restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, would not want to go to an American producer. He compares it to good wine; If he wants a good Cabernet Sauvignon, he obtains from Napa, California. If he wants a good tomato that reminds him of his childhood, he gets it from Mexico.
“We know the flavors they will bring to salsas and moles. We do not want to compromise the flavors,” said Burciaga.
Burciaga said his restaurant uses 300 to 400 pounds of Roma tomato in Mexico every week. He currently pays $ 19 for a 25 -pound tomato box. He did not like to pay the additional cost, but he feels that he has no choice.
Burciaga said that the duty of tomato – and Trump’s threat implementing the interrupted price of 25% on many other products in Mexico – make your business management difficult.
“The uncertain part concerns us. A small or medium restaurant budgets things. We know in advance that in six months, things will increase, so we can adapt,” he said. “But we don’t know these things in advance. How do you plan and how do you react? “
Journalist AP Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
