Sep 23, 2021

FFVA honors Florida agriculture department marketing division

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has honored the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Marketing and Development with its 2021 Friend of the Industry Award. The award was presented during FFVA’s 77th annual convention in Naples on Sept. 14.

The award recognizes the important role that an industry partner played in advocating for Florida agriculture over the last year. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) marketing division played a critical role in the industry’s fight for fair trade, providing research and key data points to support growers who saw harm caused by unfair trade practices from foreign countries like Mexico.

“Without the division’s team of researchers, we would not have the data to show some of the historical trends supporting how Florida farmers are being ‘buried in volume and crushed on price,’” Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) President Mike Joyner said during his remarks at the awards presentation. “Their work helps illustrate what our growers see every day as we make our case to the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. International Trade Commission.”

In August, the FDACS marketing division released an updated report on the impacts of Mexican imports on Florida’s seasonal producers. Annually, Florida agricultural producers lost sales estimated at 10-20%, or $1.31 – 2.63 billion, because of Mexico’s ag-export expansion. Florida’s market share (volume) declined in each of the four primary commodities examined between 2000 and 2020: bell peppers, tomatoes (rounds), strawberries, and blueberries.

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association is an agricultural organization representing Florida’s producers of vegetables, citrus, tropical fruit, berries, sod, sugar cane, tree crops and more. Its mission is to enhance the business and competitive environment for producing and marketing fruits, vegetables and other crops.