Renewal of tomato suspension pact sought by Mexican growers

Mexico and the U.S are negotiating a new five year-price minimum price suspension agreement for tomatoes.

The tomato suspension agreement between Mexican growers and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) was signed in February 2013 and entered into force on March 4, 2013.

This instrument is renegotiated every five years; and since it was due in March 2018, needs to be addressed again.

The Secretary of Economy has been in talks with the DOC in Washington about the renegotiation of the agreement. The agreement sets different floor prices for Mexican fresh tomatoes during the summer and winter and also specifies prices for open field/adapted-environment and controlled-environment production.

Mexican tomato growers and packers exporting to the United States are signatories to the agreement. More than 600 Mexican growers and exporters signed the agreement, up from 450 growers/exporters who signed a previous 2008 agreement. All fresh or chilled tomatoes from Mexico are covered by these price floors.

According to a report by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS), tomato production for marketing year 2018/19 is estimated at 3.4 million metric tons (MMT), similar to the previous marketing year. Mexican producers continue to move from open field production to protected agriculture technologies, resulting in higher yields.

The USDA FAS report “Mexico Tomato Annual: Protected Agriculture Production Expanding,” said Mexico’s fresh tomato exports to the U.S. for 2018-19 season are projected at 1.7 million metric tons, similar to volume in 2017-18 and 2016-17.
Total Mexican tomato production in the 2018-19 season is forecast at 3.4 million metric tons, similar to 3.43 million metric tons in 2017-18 and 3.46 million metric tons in 2016-17, according to the report.