MEXICO – Beginning July 7, Mexico will once again allow U.S. potato growers to begin limited exports into that country. Western Growers reports that this decision will only allow potatoes to be shipped within a 26-kilometer radius of the border. This agreement comes after the June 10 border closure that halted U.S. potato exports entirely.
As previously reported by AndNowUKnow, the Mexico Potato Growers Association, otherwise known as Conpapa, filed a lawsuit against Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture to put a halt to all exports and imports of U.S. potatoes into the country. This reopening of the border is seen as an interim measure that will be in place until Mexico addresses all of the legal challenges that originally closed the border.
For more information on the border closing, please visit our previous story by clicking here.
The 26-kilometer radius is nothing new to U.S. potato exporters. Prior to May 19 of this year, U.S. growers were only allowed to ship into that limited area, according to Western Growers. That restriction was temporarily lifted until the June lawsuit that closed the borders entirely.
So the main question left is, when might Mexico allow full exports beyond a 26-kilometer radius? The legal challenges are expected to last 9 to 10 months.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we stay on top of this story as it develops.
