Canadian potatoes could soon reach the Mexican market.
In a news release this week, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said it has come to an agreement with its Mexican counterpart that will allow fresh Canadian potatoes to be shipped to Mexico for consumption or processing.
The deal follows trade missions led by federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald, including a visit to Mexico last October and another visit in February.
“All we asked as Canadians is to have the same access as the U.S. has, with one caveat — and that is ensuring that we had access to the seaway,” said MacDonald, who’s also the MP for Prince Edward Island’s Malpeque riding.
“We’ve been working extremely hard to diversify our markets. I think it’s extremely important. And this is really going to benefit Canadian producers.”
Canadian potatoes will soon be heading to Mexico. What does it mean for P.E.I. farmers?
The CFIA said it plans to work closely with the potato sector in the coming months to implement the agreement.
MacDonald said he hopes potatoes could start moving to Mexico as early as this fall.
For Canadian producers, the market expansion is good news.
“It’s a project that’s been worked on now for about the last two and a half or three years,” said Ray Keenan, the CEO of Rollo Bay Holdings in eastern P.E.I., who was part of the team that travelled to Mexico last year to get support from possible customers.
“We have something to offer, so we need to spread our markets out to where those potatoes are needed most.”
While logistics like shipping still need to be sorted out, Keenan said his company could potentially transport several containers to Mexico each month.
P.E.I. already sells its potatoes to about 20 countries, but Mexico’s large population makes it an appealing market, said Krista Shaw, director of stakeholder relations at the P.E.I. Potato Board.
“I think partially because it’s part of CUSMA and anything that we can ship to where we can have tariff-free entry is of the utmost importance for our exporters here,” Shaw said.
“We’re also at a time where Canadian potatoes have been requested by the Mexican people.”
The majority of the potatoes that will make their way south will be of the russet variety, she added.
“There could be opportunities for other different kinds of potatoes. But for the most part, we’re aiming to ship in something that’s not grown [there], something that will not be competitive to the Mexican growers.”
Canada hasn’t exported potatoes to Mexico in years, but that country does bring in spuds from the U.S.
Potatoes are currently protected under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA.
But with that trilateral trade pact set to be reviewed this year, there’s some uncertainty as to what the future holds, said Matt Hemphill, the executive director of Potatoes New Brunswick.
“When you get someone as inconsistent as the current [Trump] administration, you obviously start looking at other markets in the event that that all comes to a screeching halt,” Hemphill said, noting that New Brunswick currently exports $2-billion worth of table seed and processing potatoes into the U.S. market each year.
“Other countries … are looking to do business with countries other than the U.S., quite frankly. So it was kind of perfect timing for us to look at Mexico.”
The next step in the agreement is to agree on a price and finalize all the logistics, Hemphill said.
“Then, you hope it’s sustainable,” he said.
“If we can continue to feed that market with a quality New Brunswick potato, then that helps take some of the stress and strain off some of this U.S. business — and I’m sure other commodities could say the same.”
Canadian growers who are interested in shipping potatoes to Mexico and would like to understand the next steps can contact their local CFIA office.
