Getting U.S. Potatoes Into Mexico & Wolf Management Meetings

Getting U.S. Potatoes Into Mexico & Wolf Management Meetings

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The Washington State Potato Commission and other state organizations have until January 20th to submit comments to the Mexican government debating the merits of the Mexican government’s recent proposed changes for fresh potato imports that would further restrict U.S. potato exports into Mexico. John Keeling, Executive VP and CEO of the National Potato Council comments on Mexico’s proposed changes.

KEELING: It’s clear that the recent position that was taken by the Department of Agriculture in Mexico in the proposal that they published is a step back from being a very positive step toward increased market access - it’s a very negative signal that they’ve sent.

Keeling says the pressure to open the market has never been greater than it is now so it’s to be expected that interests in Mexico would react negatively to that, but he also says there’s still hope for expanded access for U.S. farmers into Mexico.

KEELING: We have a process in this country - we publish regulations - people comment, and they change those regulations. We’re going to participate in that same process in Mexico. We’re going to continue to work with our government here. They understand the positive case for letting U.S. potatoes into Mexico. They are committed to that. We think that it’s going to be a long journey, but I think in the end we’re going to get access.

The latest information on the growing wolf population in Washington state and efforts being made to manage wolves will be discussed by a panel of experts at three meetings being conducted by the WDFW around the state this month. The meetings are open to the public and will include an opportunity for the public to submit questions to the presenters about wolf recovery and management. Scheduled meeting dates are January 16th, January 17th, and January 18th. For exact meeting times and locations visit the WDFW’s website.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network.