The Southwest International Produce Expo (SWIPE) organized by the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA) was recently held in Tucson.  FPAA is a non-profit organization founded in 1944 in Nogales, Arizona, and is the representative of more than 120 companies related to the importation, sale, distribution, and transportation of fresh Mexican produce and the most outstanding varieties are tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, mangoes, among others.

For all these reasons, SWIPE is a fundamental event worth attending. Veggies From Mexico, with its director Georgius Gotsis, was present with a booth.  He was also accompanied by Jose Maria Gaxiola, head of the Confederation of Agricultural Associations of the State of Sinaloa (CAADES) in Nogales. The event had more than 500 visitors from the US, Mexico, and Canada; industry talks and expert roundtables; and access to serious, high-level growers, buyers, and distributors.  From the booth, visitors had the opportunity to meet leaders in the fresh produce sector, from buyers, certifiers, and suppliers, among others. The role of organizations such as the Dispute Resolution Corporation of Canada, among others, with whom alliances and agreements will be made to continue offering growers in the Veggies From Mexico community more and better services. 

It was also a space for growers from Northwest Mexico and the VFM community to plan the winter season with their distributors, complete the final details of contracts, negotiate terms, and start the season on the right foot. SWIPE 2024 will be held November 6-8 in Tucson. It is well worth attending. 

Mexico makes up 39% of all fruits and vegetables that are imported into the United States each year.  Among the main products are tomatoes representing 16% of the total volume exported by Mexico to this country, avocados with 8%, cucumbers 8%, watermelons 6%, lemons 6%, peppers 5%, among other products such as hot peppers, pumpkins, bananas, lettuce, mangos, broccoli, strawberries, berries, among others.

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetable exports from Mexico to the United States amounts to more than 12 million tons with an approximate value, in 2022, of 17 billion dollars, or 7% more than the previous year.  These products are exported mainly through 4 land ports, Phar, Texas has the highest volume with almost 3.6 million tons, Nogales with 2.6 million, Laredo with 1.4 million, and Otay with 1.3 million. The rest comes in through Calexico, CA; Progreso, TX; and Roma, TX; among others.

Nogales, Arizona was for decades the main port of import for Mexican fruits and vegetables. Vegetables from Sinaloa were the ones that for decades, since the beginning of the last century, represented the highest percentage of crossings through this port. From the 20s to the 50s the products were transported by train and afterwards by refrigerated trailers. We can still see along Frontage Road in Rio Rico, AZ, next to Nogales, where many of the distribution companies are located, the railroad tracks where tomatoes from Sinaloa arrived 100 years ago.

Today, the imports of fresh tomatoes coming through Nogales are worth approximately 3 billion dollars, making it an important port for Mexican growers.  And giving the FPAA a fundamental role in the distribution and sale of Mexican fruits and vegetables, representing and defending them.  Some of the main challenges facing this association, along with organizations such as CAADES and AMHPAC, are the defense against tomato dumping, ease, and efficiency of imports, as well as food safety challenges that may arise.