Opinion: It Is Time to Defend Domestic Specialty Crops

Web AdminFlorida Grower

By Frank Giles

As the heat of summer sets in, many specialty crops have finished their seasons in the Southeast. While most crops saw good production this season, markets were again impacted by foreign competition, especially from Mexico. Surging prices for key inputs like fertilizer didn’t help the situation.

Even in specialty crops where volume was down due to weather, imports kept prices from rallying. This was true for blueberries. Freezes in January and March lowered blueberry production in Florida and Georgia. Mexico filled any shortfall in domestic production, so growers here could not enjoy a price benefit.

In June, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried provided testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management and Trade. She urged Congress to address unfair foreign trade practices causing decades-long harm to Florida farmers and the lack of protections for the domestic seasonal produce industry.

Fried provided the testimony in support of the Defending Domestic Produce Production Act (H.R. 3926 and S. 2080). The legislation was first introduced in 2018 but has yet to gain enough support for passage. Competing interests from different specialty crops and regions have made it difficult to pass into law.

Specialty Crops
Florida Senator Marco Rubio has introduced the Defending Domestic Produce Production Act several times for consideration by lawmakers. So far, the legislation has stalled.

FIXING A FLAW IN THE LAW

Specifically, the Defending Domestic Produce Production Act would ensure that U.S. trade law is applicable to seasonal fruit and vegetable growers to petition the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission in order to secure relief from unfair trade practices. 

Current law requires petitioners to demonstrate harm as measured from a nationwide and year-round perspective, which by definition precludes the recognition of regional and seasonal fruit and vegetable industries. The bill would fix this oversight in U.S. trade law and acknowledge the unique circumstances of seasonal fruit and vegetable producers.

“Passing the Defending Domestic Produce Production Act is something that Congress can and should take up without further delay to protect the strength of our domestic industry while we continue to work together to navigate the current challenges facing the industry,” Fried noted in her testimony.

PLENTY OF PROOF

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has conducted extensive studies on how imports from Mexico are hurting growers in Florida. Fried outlined those findings in the testimony: “The Mexican government’s agricultural subsidies — in addition to their lower labor and environmental safety standards — allow Mexican producers to dump artificially low-priced products into the U.S. market. In 2021, these Mexican imports increased drastically. My department found that since 2000, Florida’s share of the domestic U.S. market has plunged 40%, while Mexico’s has expanded by 217%. In 2020, U.S. imports of Mexican-grown strawberries increased 27%, other berries increased 17%, bell peppers increased 16%, and that is only to name a few.”

So much of what is happening in the world these days reinforces the importance of having a safe, secure and abundant domestic food supply. While we live in a global economy that includes food, when our growers have crops in season, we need to do all that we can to protect their markets. This is the only way they can hope to be profitable and stay in business.

The Defending Domestic Produce Production Act is a good step in that direction. It would be worth a call to your representative and senators to let them know you support the bill.