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For more than a century, Nogales, AZ, has served as an avenue to connect growers from Mexico to U.S. buyers and vice-versa. “Nogales has a long history in the produce business unlike many other ports,” says Matt Mandel,
vice president of operations for SunFed in Rio Rico, AZ. “Rail cars of Sonoran melons were arriving to Nogales over 100 years ago.”
Mandel adds the port has been, and continues to be, primarily built around fresh fruits and vegetables coming from the largest production regions in Mexico. “The community as a whole is focused on fresh produce and has a culture of service around it I have not seen in other areas,” he says.
According to statistics provided by the Fresh Produce Association of the Amer- icas (FPAA) in Nogales, with U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture data, in 2017 the area accounted for 31 percent of imported volume of fresh produce imports from Mexico, or 6.14 billion pounds.
Nogales is situated at the northern- most point of a fertile growing region extending along the west coast of Mexico
“While other ports have grown at a faster rate recently, Nogales continues to grow in both scope and volume to meet buyers’ needs across a larger swath of the calendar.” — Matt Mandel, SunFed
between the Sierra Madres and the Pacific Ocean. “We are the natural access point for crossing the variety of products being exported to the U.S. from Mexico,” says Allison Moore, FPAA vice president. “That is how Nogales was born.”
In addition to its prime geographic location, the port also boasts advantages of product diversity and expertise. “The Nogales Port of Entry handles more volume and different types of commodities than other ports,” says Pedro Batiz, vice presi- dent of sales for Divine Flavor in Nogales. “The industry there has more experience and better criteria in dealing with USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issues regarding fresh fruits and vegetables, and the level of cooperation that we have between state and local agencies helps us to address various types of problems as a community.”
Nogales persists in writing its rich produce history, according to Mandel. “While other ports have grown at a faster rate recently, Nogales continues to grow in both scope and volume to meet buyers’ needs across a larger swath of the calendar,” he says.
MORE THAN YOU MAY THINK
Though historically produce imports through Nogales focused on melons and winter vegetables, the port has grown to handle and extended assortment of fruits and vegetables all year long. “Nogales’ niche is that it doesn’t really have one,” says Mandel. “The wide array of fruits and vegetables coming through the port makes for a shopper’s dream in that there are very few items grown in Mexico that aren’t crossed through Nogales.”
FPAA’s statistics log close to 60 different produce items imported
Trucks line up at the Nogales Port of Entry, where nearly 60 different produce items come through each year, according to the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.
172 / OCTOBER 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
PHOTO COURTESY OF FPAA