NAFTA works well because countries have different climates and growing seasons so all countries involved can benefit with access to fruits and vegetables all year. But, the berry season in the South overlaps with Mexico’s berry season, leading to problems.
This has led to stiff competition from Mexico, which has cheaper labor and production costs. Georgia’s blueberry farmers said they’re looking for a better NAFTA deal.
Renée Allen at the University of Georgia works with blueberry farmers statewide.
“Growers are being forced to take less and less money for their crop. And the farmers are having difficulty recouping their cost, much less making a profit for their livelihood for their families,” Allen said. “I think the concern is that ultimately these types of imports during our market window, could potentially put the U.S. farmer out of business.”
She said the farmers don’t know what the solution is, but “some sort of volume control” could help the situation.
Brandon Wade is the plant manager for Alma Nursery and Berry Farms.
“I don’t think [potential tariffs on foreign berries] would be productive for the entire country necessarily,” Wade said. “It might gain us a little bit in the blueberry industry, but end up losing actual dollars to our economy.”
Wade is also president of the Georgia Blueberry Growers Association. He said the group does not yet have an official position on the NAFTA negotiations.
Source: wabe.org
