Mexico Reopens Markets To Southeast Peaches
August 2, 2011 An agreement signed earlier this year by the U.S. and Mexican governments has allowed sweet, juicy Southern peaches to be sold in grocery stores south of the border for the first time in 17 years.
According to an Associated Press story, growers in South Carolina and Georgia now have access to markets closed to them since 1994, when Mexico banned peach exports from the Southeast over concerns about invasive pests. The new deal involves strict protocols to keep fruit-eating insects from being carried into Mexico.
The restart of exports likely means better prices for farmers, particularly now — at the height of peach season — when the largest quantities are being picked and sold, said Desmond Layne, peach specialist at Clemson University and “Stone Fruit” columnist for American/Western Fruit Grower. “It gives them more places to sell their product for profit,” said Layne. “That’s a great thing for our growers. There are a lot of people in Mexico, and a lot of people who eat peaches.”
California peach growers have had access to Mexican markets for more than 10 years, said Alyn Kiel, spokeswoman for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which began pursuing the agreement for South Carolina and Georgia in 2008. Export protocols differ among states because they have different pests, Kiel said.
South Carolina and Georgia received clearance only after several years of negotiations. Even after the U.S. and Mexico signed a deal in February, the industry had to work out details for a Mexican supervisor to oversee field and packaging inspections on Southern farms.
Frustrated by slow correspondence, Chalmers Carr, owner of Titan Farms in South Carolina, flew to Mexico with USDA officials in April for a three-hour meeting with Mexican officials. An inspector arrived in South Carolina on May 31, and the first truckload of peaches bound for Mexico left Titan Farms in late June.
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