Tag: florida tomato exchange

This week, in response to a lawsuit by a large Mexican tomato exporter, the U.S. Court of International Trade remanded a 2019 decision to the Department of Commerce, which had determined Mexican tomatoes were being dumped in the U.S. market.

During a recent winter tomato season characterized by poor weather, very limited shipments, and record pricing of $40-plus per carton, Florida’s tomato sector nonetheless continued to claim that “U.S. growers’ prices are being suppressed.”

The continuing Mexican tomato war, which has pitted many American growers against importers, has raised a back-and-forth between the Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents growers from Florida and other American states, against the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which represents shippers who import the product from Latin America.

With the month-long rebuttal period coming to a close earlier this week, more than 450 companies, organizations, associations and government leaders have now submitted comments urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to uphold the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is in the process of determining whether to continue the current Tomato Suspension Agreement with Mexico, in effect since 2019, which regulates Mexican tomato exports to the United States.

FPAA: Anti-dumping duties will not fix what ails the Florida tomato industry, no matter how much the Florida Tomato Exchange wishes for them.

The simmering dispute over the dumping of Mexican fresh tomatoes in the U.S. market leads one to ask exactly what dumping is.

Last week, the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which represents importers of Mexican tomatoes, used a misleading study to distract from Mexico’s record of dumping tomatoes.

This is not Florida vs. Mexico. This is legal process supported by the vast majority of American tomato growers.

The recent request by the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE) asking the Department of Commerce to withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement jeopardizes the availability of the variety of tomatoes that US consumers expect at prices they can afford and would harm U.S. businesses.