By Brendan O’Boyle
Mexico City (Reuters) – -Mexico has established minimal export prices for fresh tomatoes to protect domestic production and to guarantee an internal offer after a bilateral agreement with the US, said the economy of Mexico and the ministries of agriculture in a joint statement on Sunday.
The decision follows the withdrawal of Washington in July of a deal of 2019 between the two countries that regulated the export of the Mexican tomatoes to the US.
The Trump administration on July 14 announced a duty of approximately 17% on the import of fresh tomatoes from Mexico.
Although the new price rules apply exclusively to definitive exports, they do not limit the export volumes or impose maximum prices. The prices will be assessed annually or earlier if the market conditions require itself, the Mexican ministries said.
Minimum export prices per kilogram are set to $ 1.70 for cherry and grape tomatoes, $ 0.88 for Roma tomatoes, $ 0.95 for round tomatoes and $ 1.65 for round tomatoes with stems. Other varieties, such as cocktail and heirloom tomatoes, also have a minimum price of $ 1.70.
According to official figures, Mexico exported $ 3.3 billion to tomatoes last year.
“This action reinforces the government’s dedication to the competitiveness of agriculture, worthy national employment and food sovereignty,” said the ministries.
The ministries added that Mexican associations of tomato producers expressed the support for the agreement, which was put into effect immediately after the publication on 8 August in the government’s official gazette.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle; adaptation by Lucinda Elliott)
