“My dad told me not to talk about politics in public. However, I do have a view on the Presidential Candidates and the impact on the fresh produce industry,” says an industry source.
Restrictions for domestic producers, not for imports
“If Trump gets in, that would help farmers a lot. “Because of all the restrictions that have been put on us, these regulations are killing us. We’re going to have to raise prices on our produce. We have to fill out paperwork and go through inspections. At the same time, the produce coming in from other countries isn’t put through the same restrictions. They can send produce in that’s full of chemicals and pests, and that’s not caught by inspectors,” the source said. Inspectors don’t know the industry
“The people setting these restrictions are paid by the government. They don’t know anything about farming. They don’t come to our farms to see how all these regulations are hurting us—what the effects of all these restrictions are,” the source went on.
“I am afraid to import anything. If anything bad comes in, it would all be on me. And I’m talking about importing from Mexico and Asia. I support Donald Trump because he is a businessman and he understands how regulations affect businesses.”
Anti-business regulations
Another source says: “one of the things that has held back the fresh produce industry from being productive is government regulations. Some regulations are important, but some are anti-business.” An example is a truck that was 90 miles away from its final destination. It had to stop for a rest period of 10 consecutive hours.” I understand that 90 miles is a long way when you are tired, but in this situation, the retailer and driver both lost. The retailer lost, because he didn’t get his product in time. The driver lost valuable time and had to return empty with an empty load.”
More of the same with Hillary
“I feel we’ve seen more regulation from the current Administration. If Hillary gets elected, we are going to see more of the same. If Donald Trump gets elected, some of the anti-business attitude will go away. It will help the industry in becoming more efficient,” the source concluded.