Potato Exports To Mexico Part 2

Potato Exports To Mexico Part 2. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Yesterday we began a chat with John Toastern, VP for International Marketing with the United States Potato Board about the on-going problems of exporting U.S. potatoes to Mexico even though an independent panel has ruled there are no problems.

TOASTERN: December 2010 the two Secretaries of Agriculture met. They came to an agreement that they would do a panel to review. Bring in outside scientists that were not from either government. That panel met. Both countries provided a great deal of information. The panel came up with a result. That result said that U.S. potatoes do not prove to be a threat to Mexican agriculture. That there are only 6 pests of concern. It gave mitigation measure that we could meet that would allow U.S. potatoes to enter with no problem to Mexican agriculture.

Of course to date exports are only allowed within 26 kilometers or 16 miles of the border. Toastern says thought to not be too disheartened.

TOASTERN: This issue has been discussed or is on the agenda when President Obama met with the new president from Mexico. We see it at the highest level it can possibly bee at and there will be decisions made on this issue we think here in the not too distant future.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.