North America Edition
"I don't think that it will have any effect on us to speak up,” says Nick Mastronardi, Owner of Double Diamond Farms in Ontario, Canada. “We are probably in a negative trade balance as it is, as far as agriculture is concerned. We are a Northern climate here, which puts us in a situation to import more from the US than the other way around,” he added. No impact expected
“I don't think that it was ever really an issue in Trump's campaign to interfere with the fruit and vegetable trade, with Mexico into the United States and with Canada also. I think that Trump was reflecting more on manufacturing and the auto trade and I don't think that any of the embargos or negotiations will affect agriculture at all."
Comments from Felipe Garcia with Master’s Touch are along the same lines. The company grows tomatoes in Baja California in Mexico. Garcia doesn’t think anything will change right away. “If there will be changes, I don’t see how they would impact the fresh produce industry. Supply and demand of fresh produce work themselves out. When it comes to the tomato industry, we already have a suspension agreement to control supplies from Mexico to the US,” shared Garcia. “I think the comments that are being made regarding NAFTA are more related to the automotive industry, but it may be too early to tell,” concluded Garcia.
Trump’s victory affects one of his closest neighbors
The Association of Producers and Packers Exporters of Avocado in Mexico (APEAM) is worried about Trump’s protectionist and anti-Mexican speech. The organization will closely follow future events as 80 percent of the US avocado market is made up of avocados from Mexico. “Trump’s victory in the United States Presidential election greatly affects one of his closest neighbors, Mexico,” says Ramón Paz, adviser to APEAM. "Four out of five avocados consumed in the US are from Mexico and there is no other country that can supply the US market. We need each other," said Paz. For that reason, he believes that Trump’s team must analyze this in an objective and rational way, and not change anything in the avocado market. APEAM hopes that Trump's political actions as President will be different from his speech during the campaign, and that he makes more rational decisions away from that speech.
