Not so bad

Coincidence or a winning trade agreement? In either case, Mexican growers are apparently pleased with the results of the North American Free Trade Agreement:
This press translation of a Mexican newspaper story was recently featured in a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service in Mexico:

While many agricultural workers are protesting against NAFTA by taking their tractors to the streets, others are taking them to the fields and taking advantage of free trade; specifically, fruit and vegetable producers. Since the beginning of NAFTA, Mexican fruit exports to the United States have grown 177 percent, while vegetable exports have grown 122 percent. Mexico is the world’s main avocado producer, and U.S. imports of Mexican avocados have multiplied 500 times since NAFTA was created. In 2007, 12 percent of all Mexican exports to the United States were avocados, and Mexico has conquered 66percent of the total U.S. market, displacing Chile as the main supplier. Meanwhile, 88 percent of the U.S. tomato market is covered by Mexican exports, which totaled 863,000 MT last year. Manuel Tarriba, President of an agricultural worker’s association in Sinaloa explained that “we as producers
did our homework, and we invested in food safety, plant health, postharvest treatments and state-of-the-art equipment.” Jeffrey Jones, Under Secretary of Agribusiness Development, believes that this sector is also the least “politicized”, which is something that has allowed the industry to do well. (Source: Reforma, 2/2/08)