<p>The recent storms that made their way through Mexico are taking a toll on the country. According to a report in The Independent, the country’s interior minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong increased the official estimate at a news conference in Acapulco, around <b>1.5 million acres of farmland declared “completely lost” </b>by Mexico’s agriculture ministry and 59,000 people are believed to have been evacuated from their homes as the country cleans up the worst storm damage in decades. The official death toll from a pair of storms, Tropical Storm Ingrid and Hurricane Manuel has risen to 123.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>El Financiero, notes that fresh produce prices have risen in the wake of the damage. Manuel Cazares, President of Product System Tomato, reported that vegetable prices had increased by more than 20 percent. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Growers in Mexico tell us that, based on what they know and what they have at the moment, Roma tomato pricing went up after heavy rains in central Mexico and the Torreon area, which are the producing areas now. The rain and a projected drop in volume regardless of the storm created shortage in supplies for both markets (Mexican and American). Growers forsee short supplies for the next 3 weeks.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>As far as Sinaloa, it is still a bit early to assess the impact of the storm on central Sinaloa's agriculture, we are told, as the region is still in planting stages.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Products that include pumpkins, chilies and cucumbers have also been affected. Benjamin Grayeb Ruiz, President of the National Agricultural Council, noted, in El Financiero, "The rains always bring good production even if we have flooding in some places, which means that we will have two years of good harvests, these rains will always be good for the country."</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The cities of Sinaloa Municipio, Culiacan, Navolato, Angostura, Mocorito, Badiraguato and Salvador Alvarado are all included in the disaster declaration, according to the Latin American Herald Trubune. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more information on the recent storms in Mexico.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://elfinanciero.com.mx/secciones/finanzas/33264-inundaciones-disparan-precio-de-hortalizas.html" target="_new"> El Financiero </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/death-toll-rises-to-123-in-mexico-following-tropical-storm-ingrid-and-hurricane-manuel-8835933.html<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">" target="_new"> The Independent </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=1031484&CategoryId=14091" target="_new"> The Latin American Herald Tribune</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
