April 7, 2008

United States Agribusinesses are 'Migrating' to Mexico

Frontera NorteSur

Confronted with the possibility of losing a labor force because of immigration law crackdowns, some US growers are simply moving their operations to places where workers abound. While the presence of US agribusiness in Mexico is nothing new, Mexican authorities and farm industry representatives say immigration controversies north of the border are encouraging a fresh infusion of US investment in export crops.

“In Baja California, 17 US enterprises associated with Mexican producers are dedicated to the cultivation of horticultural products and vegetables,” said Israel Camacho, undersecretary for Baja California’s state agricultural promotion department. “The Mexicans supply the land and water, and the foreigners supply money, seed and other implements. (Foreigners) are coming to Mexico because of cheap labor, and more are going to come.”

Baja California farm workers, many of whom hail from the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca in southern Mexico, earn on average $12 per day, officials said.

According to figures released by Mexico’s Economy Ministry, annual foreign investment in the country’s agricultural sector shot up from less than $20 million in 2005 to $62.3 million in 2007. Ninety-five percent of the new money came from the United States.

Sonora, Baja California, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Queretaro, and Sinaloa were the states which received the bulk of the investment. Firms doing business in Mexico include Bill Packer, Capurro Co., Sahara, Veg Packer, and Driscoll, among others. Trendy Chinese vegetables represent a hot segment of the new export business; farms specializing in Asian-origin produce are at work in the states of Sinaloa and Nayarit.

No information was immediately available on the amount of Mexican land that is being converted for export crops, but Sinaloa tomato farmer Eduardo de la Vega said the arrival of more US capital is increasing land values.

In the United States, meanwhile, the Bush administration is responding to growers’ concerns that tougher immigration law enforcement measures will deprive them of workers. Late last week the US Citizenship and Immigration Services division of the Department of Homeland Security announced it was extending a public comment period on proposals to facilitate the increased use of the existing H-2A guest worker program. According to a press statement, formal notice of an expanded public comment period lasting until April 14 was expected to be published in the March 31 edition of the Federal Register.

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Sources: Tribuna de la Bahia/Agencia Reforma, March 31, 2008. Article by Moises Ramirez. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, March 28, 2008. Press update.

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Frontera NorteSur (FNS)
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico

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(Reprinted with authorization from Frontera NorteSur, a free, on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news source.  FNS can be found at http://frontera.nmsu.edu/)

Translation FNS