Over 13 billion pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables cross the U.S.-Mexican border each year. Having accurate tracking of the food being imported across our southern border is important for a variety of reasons—including the ability to accurately assess the market price of incoming goods and the growing importance of specific ports of entry.
USDA’s Market News, the primary market data collection arm of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), recently expanded its collection of data at crossing points along the border in the state of Texas.
We originally tracked all Mexico crossings through Texas as one single crossing, but after hearing requests from the produce industry and transportation firms, we changed our collection methods to track 10 unique crossing points all along the Texas border. Our produce movement reports now show the produce coming in at Brownsville, Los Indios, Progreso, Rio Grande City, Roma, Pharr, Laredo, Presidio, El Paso, Del Rio, and Eagle Pass.
Our expanded crossings report paints a more complete market picture, reflecting not only the quantity, but FOB pricing as well. Knowing these factors for several different crossing points will help the U.S. produce industry as a whole make informed decisions about the pricing and marketing of their produce.
The additional crossing point data will enable U.S. importers to more thoroughly forecast business needs and shipping trends with greater clarity, as the specific points of entry are now shown.
For instance, if you want to see the number and frequency of greenhouse tomato shipments coming into the U.S. through Pharr, Texas, page 41of the report will show you that 22 40,000lb-units came in on February 7th by truck. You’ll see not only daily movement numbers, but also a running total for the year to date.
AMS is committed to supporting all agricultural business models and Market News is just one of the many ways we empower businesses—both large and small. Market News reports give businesses the information they need to evaluate market conditions, make purchasing decisions, monitor price patterns, evaluate transportation equipment needs and accurately assess movement, to identify future trends and more.
Market News has been providing price, demand and volume information on cotton, dairy, livestock and grains, poultry and eggs, and fruits and vegetables for over 95 years.
Visit USDA Market News on the AMS website to view hundreds of pre-made reports—including the expanded crossing points report—or create a custom report to see only the information you need. Compete Smarter – with USDA Market News!