05.29.03

Washington State Potato Growers Make Historic Shipments of Fresh Potatoes to Mexico

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Washington State potato growers have made the historic first ever shipments of Washington fresh potatoes to Mexico. The shipments were made possible by a U.S.-Mexico bilateral agreement reached in March to open the Mexican market to Washington state fresh potatoes. The agreement came after U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell's (D-WA) February trade mission to Mexico to urge opening of the market. The Mexican potato market is the second largest in the world.

"This is a great day for Washington state potato growers," Cantwell said. "Potato growers in Washington state fought hard for this victory because the Mexican fresh potato market is the second largest in the world. I look forward to continuing to work with our state's potato growers on expanding market opportunities in Mexico and beyond."

"We're obviously pleased that the two governments were finally able to reach an agreement," said Pat Boss, Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission. "We've put considerable effort into opening this market and it's encouraging to see our shippers reacting so quickly to this new opportunity."

Figures drawn from the Washington State Potato Commission's in-house newsletter report that Washington growers have completed shipments of 3.4 million pounds of Washington state fresh potatoes to Mexico. The total value of the initial shipments exported in May is approximately $400,000. The varieties shipped have been Norkotahs and Russet Burbanks from the Columbia Basin.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) traveled on a trade mission to Mexico in February, meeting with Mexican government officials to urge the opening of the Mexican market to Washington state fresh potatoes. Cantwell held discussions with the Mexican agricultural ministry and foreign ministry, urging the Mexican government to accept a protocol to allow entry for Washington potatoes. Cantwell's delegation to Mexico City included representatives of the Washington State Potato Commission and the Northwest Horticulture Council.

Until a bilateral agreement was announced on March 27, 2003, Washington State could not ship fresh potatoes to Mexico because of some phytosanitary concerns cited by the Mexican Government. In 2001, the Washington State Potato Commission began direct talks with the Mexican government and Mexican potato industry in an effort to resolve these issues and pave the way to the historic opening of the complete Mexican market to Washington fresh potatoes.

The agreement between U.S. and Mexico:

- Initiated a process and timeline for opening access to Mexican markets for fresh potatoes from the United States.

- Established a phyto-sanitary inspection regime to enable shipment freedom including the use of certified seed potatoes, applying sprout inhibitor, virus and disease inspection, and providing appropriate documentation.

- Committed the U.S. and Mexican government to the principle of full-market access for fresh potatoes.

Washington State is the second largest potato producing state in the country. In 2002, the industry harvested $514 million in potatoes, trailing only apples and milk as the leading agricultural product in Washington State. A 2001 Washington State University study concluded that potatoes and related businesses helped create almost 28,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in annual sales.

This agreement builds on Cantwell's successes opening foreign markets to Washington state products:

- In 2002, Cantwell led a successful trade mission to Cuba which resulted in the historic first shipments of Washington state apples, peas, and lentils to Cuba in over forty years.

- Also in 2002 Cantwell helped open the British Columbia wine market to more than twenty Washington state wineries.

Cantwell has also been a strong advocate for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Market Access Program which helps agriculture producers access foreign markets. She supported a successful expansion of the MAP program to $210 million annually by 2006.