• INVESTMENT: Mexican growers credit major investments in protected agriculture technology as the key reason for the explosive growth in Mexican exports of perishables like blueberries, strawberries and bell peppers currently under the microscope of the Trump administration.
• TUNNELS: With growers citing investments in technologies like polythene Spanish tunnels, Mexican production of perishables like blueberries has improved along with exports. The value of Mexican blueberries exports rose from US $7.6 million in 2010 to US $333.2 million in 2019, per government data.
•TECHNOLOGY: “What we did was take money out of our own pocket and thus invest in protected (agriculture) technology. We assumed the risk,”, said Alfredo Díaz, head of Mexico’s Association of Protected Horticulture (AMHPAC), who also mentioned technology from Israel and the Netherlands.
• INVESTIGATION: Just months after the launch of the renewed US, Mexico and Canada trade agreement (USMCA), the Trump administration announced it had began a trade investigation into Mexican blueberries imports. The US is studying investigations into strawberries and bell peppers.
