The majority of agricultural produce from Mexico is trucked across the international bridges on the southern border headed to U.S. markets. Agricultural trade between the two countries has increased over the past decade and an estimated 170,000 Mexican trucks laden with mostly fresh fruits and vegetables are expected to cross into the U.S. this year.
The significant demand on inspectors at the Pharr, McAllen and Brownsville land ports is only expected to increase in the months and years ahead as the Mazatlan-Matamoros superhighway, also dubbed Supervia, is drastically changing the fresh produce sector in South Texas and in the U.S. Connecting Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico to Pharr and Brownsville, Texas, this new route for produce transportation provides a more direct route to customers in the Midwest and on the East Coast of the U.S. from agriculture-rich regions in Mexico.
Already multi-million dollar refrigerated storage facilities have opened in the McAllen-Edinburg area to accommodate the inflow of these fresh food products, but Rio Grande Valley wholesalers and warehouse owners have complained that a lack of agriculture inspectors at the border has dramatically increased inspection wait times.
As a result, the agriculture and transportation industry in South Texas has expressed the need for more USDA inspectors. But because of budget constraints, only a handful of additional inspectors have been added to speed the process of inspections.
In response, South Texas business leaders, working with State Rep. R.D. 'Bobby' Guerra, D-McAllen, and state Sens. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, and Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, petitioned the Texas Legislature to consider providing financial assistance to add more inspectors at land port crossings in South Texas.
The move was supported by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. With the support of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), South Texas elected representatives, and the South Texas Assets Consortium (STAC), a coalition of South Texas business owners and local government officials, the Legislature authorized a $652,500 grant that should substantially reduce wait times at ports between Texas and Mexico.
The grant requires the STAC to match those funds, so collectively about $1.3 million will soon be available to add inspectors at land ports in South Texas to handle the elevated flow of fresh foods from Mexico.
Source: southwestfarmpress.com
