Cheap labor in Mexico affecting Florida strawberry farmers
Mexico has cheap labor, so American companies are growing strawberries there and shipping them here, threatening to put local farmers out of business.
"It's a little bit of a struggle," strawberry grower Matt Parke told FOX 13 News. "We're fighting with it."
Parke's family has grown strawberries for generations, but he says family farms like his are being driven out by big American companies operating south of the border.
"The reason these American companies go to Mexico is that, it's so much cheaper to farm over there," Parke explained.
He says labor costs here are much higher and regulations are tighter.
"I feel like NAFTA needs to leave or they need to renegotiate it," Parke said.
Farmers like Parke say a repeal or renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement could protect American berries by putting a tax on imports from Mexico.
source: fox13news.com