• EXPORTS: The closure of restaurants across the US due to the coronavirus outbreak, along with new consumer habits are wreaking havoc on Mexico’s exports of fresh produce products, such as berries and bell peppers, resulting in lower volumes and lower prices paid.
• BERRIES: “Right now, when we are just at the peak of the blackberry and raspberry harvest, we’re seeing that profits are below production costs for the two products”, said Juan José Flores, head of Mexico’s National Association of Berry Exporters.
• DATA: Mexico accounts for 77% of fresh-vegetable imports to the US with a total value of US $5.6 billion, according to the US Department of Agriculture. However, new consuming habits are already taking a toll on the amount of produce demanded by US consumers.
• BELL PEPPERS: “The sales of our product has slowed down a lot. We continue to send it, but it now stays for a long time in the warehouse”, said Miguel Ángel Ramírez, manager at La Huerta Agro Jaguar in Morelos state, who used to export 26 tons of bell peppers to the US every 2 weeks.
