After more than 25 years of regulatory hurdles, fresh U.S. potatoes are available in Mexico. Previously, the United States could not export potatoes beyond a 26-kilometer border zone. “Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack lived up to the promised deadline of getting this done by May 15,” said Kam Quarles, CEO, National Potato Council. “The real test of how well this trade relationship is working is when we get into the end of the year when we get the big volumes moving after harvest. How does the competition and Mexican government react?” Fresh potato growers in other parts of the country are monitoring the durability of the market.
