Jun 12, 2014Lawsuit closes Mexico to U.S. fresh potatoes
Mexico has closed its border to U.S. fresh potatoes following a lawsuit filed by Comite Nacional Sistema Producto Papa, (CONPAPA), a Mexican potato grower organization.
CONPAPA filed the lawsuit against Mexico’s Department of Agriculture, SAGARPA, seeking curtailment of the recent agreement allowing importation of U.S. fresh potatoes into all of Mexico beginning May 19.
A Mexican judge granted an injunction to stop U.S. shipments.
Prior to the trade agreement, shipments of U.S. fresh potatoes were restricted to a 26 kilometer zone inside Mexico.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service stopped issuing phytosanitary certificates for fresh potato shipments into Mexico following the injunction.
Mark Szymanski, director of public relations for the National Potato Council, said that there was no time frame for when the dispute would be cleared up.
