Increasing Imports of Mexican Cucumber has US Farmers Concerned

Fresh Cucumber

Vegetables

Mexico

United States

Published Jul 14, 2021

As demand for cucumber and squash has continuously risen in the US, imports of Mexican cucurbits have surged at a year-on-year growth rate of 14.7% since 2015. This increase in imports has American farmers worried, to the point they have lobbied to initiate an International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation, claiming that seasonal imports from Mexico continue to damage the US market and threaten the future of domestic farms production. In response, representatives of Mexican producers have countered by claiming Mexican exports complement production in the US so that consumers can buy the vegetables all year.

Increasing Demand for Cucumber

The ITC agreed to investigate the impact of imported cucumbers and squash after a direct request from the US Trade Representative over an ITC hearing in April this year, where farmers’ concerns were shared regarding imports from Mexico gaining significant US market shares. The reality is that US production hasn´t been able to keep the pace of demand and has been forced to increase its cucumber and squash imports. In 2020, the US imported USD 960 million in cucumbers and gherkins, a 9% growth from the previous year, with 66% of those from Mexico.

While it is estimated that in 2019, the US produced around 700,000 tons of fresh cucumber, the same year it imported 970,000 tons of cucumber and gherkins, which means most of the product available in the US is imported. According to the recent report by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the total weight of cucumber shipped into the US increased by 75% over the past 20 years, from 545,000 tons to 950,000 tons and 853,000 tons are accounted for by imports from Mexico (94.7%). US producers claim that while imports have attested to continuous growth, the growth in the size of the overall market has not yet translated into growth for domestic producers.

Mexico Takes the Largest Share of the Growth

With the geographical proximity, a tax and tariffs free trade agreement, and a wider seasonality, it’s clear Mexico has taken the larger share from the US imported market. According to the Mexican Ministry of Economy data, Mexican exports of fresh and frozen cucumbers and gherkins went from USD 420 million in 2014 to USD 648 million in 2020, an increase of 14.7% year-on-year. In the same year, the market share of imported cucumbers from Mexico saw a 34% increase with a 134% increase in volume.

Mexico exports practically all of its shipments (99.4%) of cucumbers to the United States, while the rest are sent to Canada. In 2020, 818,221 tons of Mexican cucumbers were consumed in the United States, an increase of 2.5% year on year. In the same ITC hearing, it was also exposed that Mexican exports have risen sharply in recent years, but only because US demand has risen and domestic production in states like Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Michigan has fallen short of this increase.

US Market Challenges

According to the Vegetable Growers Association, it costs Georgia producers an average of USD 7.86 to grow and package a box of cucumbers, while Mexican cucumbers sell for as low as USD 5.21 per box. Thus, US farmers claimed the trade to be unfair and is causing losses in domestic vegetable markets, affecting growers and communities.

It will take about a year for the ITC to look into the cucumber trade and assess if the current market situation is actually unfair for US producers. In the meantime, one thing is certain and is the fact that for many years the cucumber production industry in Mexico is driven by the US market consumption. In 2019, Mexico produced about 850,000 tons of fresh cucumber, while that same year it exported 750,000 tons. This means that Mexican cucumber consumption just takes about 11% of the national production while the rest is shipped to the US.

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