Now Entering Nogales – Part I: Bigger, Better, Busier

More Growing Regions in Mexico
New produce growing areas were recently developed in several central and southern Mexico states including Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero, and México. These regions export primarily through Texas border ports of entry not only because they are closer to the Lone Star State’s crossings—but also because many of these new growers and importers have ties to or are backed financially by Texas companies.

“The trend is growing in Mexico shipments overall, period,” explains Robert Bennen Jr., president of Ta-De Distribut-ing Company. “It is not an either/or proposition. It’s about destination.” He says while the Texas ports are ideal for companies with most of their customers in the East, Ta-De Distributing has been focused primarily in the West and northwestern states, “all via Nogales,” he notes.

“We’re seeing an increase in summertime exports from Mexico,” comments Chris Ciruli, COO for Ciruli Brothers, LLC. “We have shipping programs on vegetable items throughout Mexico between the states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Morelos, Guanajuato, and Zacatecas. Further-more, our mango program spans from the southernmost states of Chiapas and Oaxaca to Nayarit and Sinaloa.”

“Everything we grow is in Mexico,” points out Miguel Suarez, sales manager at MAS Melons & Grapes, LLC. “A few years ago we had a lady grape grower in Egypt, and we imported her grapes into the United States.” The arrangement ended, however, and now MAS Melons has “a partnership among four growers from the Caborca, Sonora Mexico area” making the supplier “a vertically integrated company all the way from the fields to our customers.”

Two is Better than One?
In the meantime, more and more Nogales distributors are also establishing secondary offices and warehouses in Texas. For instance, Ciruli Brothers operates a warehouse in Donna, about 12 miles east of McAllen. “We’ve been importing and distributing from Texas for over 10 years now,” remarks Ciruli. “There have been more crossings through Texas each year and we expect this trend to continue.”

Havel agrees. “Yes, I think the Texas trend will continue to grow as established distributors from Nogales expand their business to offer loading in the McAllen region.”

Roberto Franzone, director at Arizona Sky Produce, Inc., is on the other side of the argument. “Texas has helped with lower costs for shipments both from Mexico and for the East Coast—and while this is a great benefit, there are times when you can still tell Texas is not Nogales,” he relates. “The delays, loading mishaps, required appointments for loading, and early hours are just a few points. We do not see Texas increasing as much as anticipated,” he notes.