Abbott border inspections threaten fresh produce supply in US

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) order to increase inspections on commercial trucks entering the state from Mexico could threaten the supply of fresh produce in the U.S. and raise food prices for weeks after traffic begins flowing again. 

Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fruits and vegetables hauled through the southern border are at risk after the new inspection program and ensuing protests caused miles-long traffic jams.

“The damage has been done. I’ve got members reporting that trucks are finally starting to show up that were stuck in those lines for three to five days, and some are saying that product is just unusable, rotten and leaking out of trailers,” said Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association.

Abbott, who last week ordered state troopers to inspect all commercial trucks after they cleared federal checkpoints in response to President Biden’s decision to end the Title 42 immigration order, has since worked out deals with Mexican leaders to ease inspections following pressure from business leaders and Texas officials, including high-profile Republicans.

This week, Abbott reached agreements with governors of Mexican border states to end heightened inspections and collaborate on border security. On Friday, he announced a similar deal with Tamaulipas, a region of Mexico that shares 200 miles of border with Texas and neighbors Laredo, which processes nearly a quarter of fresh produce crossing the southern border.

Abbott said at a press conference that stepped-up inspections of trucks from that region would end immediately.

“I understand the concern that businesses have about trying to move products across the bridge, but I also know the anger that Texans have that is caused by Joe Biden not securing the border,” Abbott said at the press conference.

Truckers and suppliers say that those agreements, while essential in ensuring that the situation doesn’t devolve into a full-blown economic crisis, are coming too late to prevent the spoilage of fresh food that was headed to stores in Texas, the Midwest and Northeast.

They say that stores and restaurants will struggle to get their hands on Mexican-grown avocados, limes, tomatoes, mangos and cucumbers that primarily travel through Texas, and some stores won’t be able to replenish their stocks until next weekend.

“We will probably feel this for the next five to 15 days,” said Galeazzi, who estimates that $180 million in produce remains stalled. “Even after the resolution is announced, the supply chain will take time to normalize itself.”

The U.S. relies on Mexico for nearly half of its vegetable imports and 40 percent of fruit imports, and two-thirds of all trade between the two nations goes through Texas.

The ensuing shortage will likely drive up food prices that were already soaring. Labor Department data released this week found that wholesale food prices are up 12.8 percent since March 2021. Wholesale food prices jumped 2.4 percent from February to March, with the cost of fresh and dry vegetables climbing by an astonishing 42 percent

John Esparza, president of the Texas Trucking Association, said that inspections are also delaying the delivery of medical devices, automobile parts, semitrucks and fresh meat, among other Mexican imports. He’s hoping that truckers return to their normal schedules by next week.

“Someone’s going to wake up on Easter morning and not have something they hoped to get,” Esparza said. “Those are the natural consequences of a situation like this.”

Truckers reported waiting anywhere from four to 30 hours near the southern border, only to run out of fuel and lose the ability to refrigerate their goods. Traffic was at its worst earlier this week when Mexican truckers blockaded the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge, a key channel connecting the two countries, in protest of the new inspection policy.

The delays put additional pressure on clogged supply chains that have been disrupted by the pandemic and could worsen amid the Russia-Ukraine war and COVID-19 lockdowns in China.

The policy quickly drew pushback from state and local officials, who warned that it would devastate Texas border communities that rely on U.S.-Mexico trade.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, wrote a letter to Abbott this week saying the policy wouldn’t boost border security and would lead to “massive produce shortages” that would saddle American companies with “untold losses.”

“If your policy continues, within the next week, I predict that Texas consumers will be paying two dollars for a lime and five dollars for an avocado,” he wrote. “The following week, Texas produce shelves will be empty — for the third time because of policies implemented by your administration.”

Abbott implemented the new inspections after President Biden announced that he would end Title 42, an emergency health order enacted by the Trump administration at the onset of the pandemic that allows federal immigration officials to turn migrants away without allowing them to apply for asylum.

The Texas governor and other prominent Republicans say that lifting the rule would invite more migrants to cross the border, an influx that immigration officials are not prepared to handle.

Abbott said state inspections of all trucks, rather than checking them randomly, would help prevent unlawful border crossings and slow the flow of drugs coming from Mexico. 

Texas officials reported that one-fourth of the trucks inspected were not in compliance with safety standards, but they have not disclosed finding drugs or migrants hidden in the vehicles.

Updated at 5:29 p.m.