- The U.S. imports most of its fruits and a growing percentage of its vegetables, primarily from Mexico.
- Nogales, Ariz., is a major entry point for Mexican produce, handling billions of pounds annually.
- Any major changes to this system could raise the price of what’s on our plates.
If you wanted to buy a fresh tomato a few decades ago, there was one choice at the grocery store — a simple slicing tomato.
And even that might not be available, depending on the season.
But times have changed. On any given week now, in any given store, there are not only plain slicing tomatoes, but Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes and tomatoes still on the vine.
And that’s not accounting for all the organic versions, or the Campari, San Marzano or other specialty tomatoes found in some stores.
We are a nation that wants options, and we want them year-round. No wonder our food system has grown so complicated.
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We’re importing more produce from Mexico
Most of the fruits and vegetables we buy in America are grown in a few states, including Arizona. California itself accounts for nearly 70%.
But almost none of what we eat comes from just one place year-round.
It moves, following growing seasons, from specialized region to specialized region — as Yuma is for salad greens, broccoli and cauliflower from November to April.
Adding complexity to this web, the U.S. now imports most of its fruit and a steadily growing share of its vegetables, mostly from Mexico.
Increased costs for labor, fuel and fertilizer have thrown a cog into U.S. production, particularly when government subsidies favor crops grown for livestock feed or ethanol over fruits and vegetables.
The grocery market also has consolidated, with a few national chains seeking produce in giant quantities to supply what used to be relatively autonomous regional stores.
All of which helps explain why America has grown increasingly reliant on produce from growers outside the U.S.
For better or worse, it’s the cheapest way to satiate our modern appetites.
No wonder tariffs worry Arizona growers
This background is crucial to understand why tariffs make Arizona’s $30.9 billion agriculture industry so nervous.
President Donald Trump has temporarily backed off a 25% tax on fruits and vegetables from Mexico and Canada, but few expect it to be permanently off the table.
And while that tax likely won’t slow the stream of imports from either country — at least, not in the short term — the profit margins on produce are so slim that any cost increases must be passed on to consumers.
Which means our grocery bills will go up.
The uncertainty also takes a toll on places like Nogales, where thousands of trucks of produce picked in Mexico stream across the border and through Arizona, for distribution to customers all over the U.S. and Canada.
Nogales imports much of our tomatoes, peppers
It’s hard to fathom how much is being imported until you visit Nogales.
It’s the nation’s second-largest port of entry for produce — next to Pharr, Texas — handling a whopping 6.8 billion pounds of freshly picked fruits and vegetables in 2022, according to the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.
Trucks full of produce harvested that morning in Mexico arrive at the port a few hours later, where various government agencies inspect their loads for pests, food safety and to ensure nothing is being smuggled with them.
Then those trucks move on to giant, cooled warehouses, which line miles of Interstate 19 north of the border in Nogales and Rio Rico.
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These import companies, not the Mexican growers that supply them, must pay the tariffs.
Once inside the warehouse, produce is unloaded and inspected again, then parceled out into orders that will be placed on trucks and whisked out to customers.
Farmers, importers worry about ripple effects
The Nogales port specializes in produce like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in the winter, and in table grapes and watermelons in the summer.
Each warehouse works with a web of growers across Mexico, often embedding employees at their farms to follow the production and harvest.
Importing is such a key industry for Santa Cruz County, where Nogales is located, that any changes to the business could have marked impacts on its economy.
Other Arizona farmers share that worry, even if they sell domestically.
Because the Mexican, American and Canadian produce markets are so interconnected, any changes to one could have unpredictable ripple effects on the others.
Either way, fruits and vegetables will cost more
So, why don’t we just bring produce production back to the U.S.? Because the startup costs would be enormous, for one.
Most crops require specialized equipment to grow and harvest, and farmers would need certainty that they can sell them for many years to pencil out the investment.
It also would require additional water, particularly in already stressed areas of California and Arizona where growing conditions are best suited to produce the most produce.
Moving production back to America would require a radical remake of our food system.
Which, like tariffs, also would undoubtedly force up the cost of what’s on our plates.
Joanna Allhands writes opinions primarily about Arizona water and the Colorado River. Reach her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, @joannaallhands.
