NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — Hurricanes damage more than homes. They can wreck farms and the crops that fill our food stores. Produce from Mexico could help take up the slack but there’s still the chance of higher prices ahead.
The hurricane recovery areas might seem a very long way from the Mexican border at Nogales but a lot of the industry in Mexico that drives millions of dollars in cross-border commerce has similar industry competing in some of those hurricane zones.
Warehouses in Southern Arizona take in tons of produce from Mexico,---tomatoes, berries, beans and melons—then send that food all over the United States and Canada.
Farmers in Florida grow many of the same crops, and if those crops are damaged, farm equipment is broken, or farm workers are repairing homes instead of growing produce grocery chains will have to find other sources.
Jaime Chamberlain’s family business has imported produce from Mexico for fifty years.
He says, “Three-quarters of the United States population is on the East Coast, from the Central part of the United States to the East Coast, and those parts are serviced by the Florida-Georgia areas and you have that lack of supply, then all of that will come to be demanding Mexican product.”
Chamberlain has regular customers as far away as Boston and Seattle. He says his growers are still feeling the impact of a drought in Mexico and if hurricanes knock down Florida agriculture, consumers could feel it.
“So I think we're going into an issue here where a lot of our crops may be curtailed as far as volume is concerned, but most likely, at least for the next couple of months, for the October, November, December, time, we think the prices are going to be significantly higher than last season.”
With all the disruption from Hurricanes Milton and Helene it will take time for a crop damage assessment but the assessment from 2023’s Hurricane Idalia offers a guide.
Idalia damage estimates showed more than 447 million dollars in damage to crops and farm infrastructure.
Vegetable and melon losses exceeded 60 million dollars.
But Jaime Chamberlain says he’s not really thinking about his competition right now. He says he’s thinking of the human impact to farmers and families when the storms hit the fields.
——-
Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
