NOGALES, AZ — Nogales remains the top U.S. port of entry for receiving Mexican fresh fruits and vegetables, according to a report released by the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, based here.

On Feb. 2, the association released The Nogales Produce Import Report 2014-15, which revealed that Nogales received 5.6 billion pounds of fresh Mexican produce in 2014-15. The second-largest port in this category is Pharr, TX, which accepted almost 5 billion pounds. Ranking a distant third in volume is Otay Mesa, a border town on the south side of San Diego, with almost 2 billion pounds. The volume entering the fourth-largest port, Laredo, TX, is nearly as large as Otay Mesa.Tomatoes remain the largest-volume Mexican fresh produce item imported into the United States through Nogales, AZ.

According to FPAA’s new report, by volume, tomatoes remain the top produce item imported through Nogales, but watermelon imports have risen dramatically in recent years and virtually matched tomatoes last season. In 2014-15, Mexican tomato imports through Nogales totaled 1.12 billion pounds. Last season Nogales’ receipt of Mexican watermelons totaled 1.11 billion pounds, up from 906 million in 2012-13.

In 2012-13, the volume of tomatoes crossing at Nogales registered 1.26 billion pounds — a 22 percent share of all produce tonnage imported into Nogales from Mexico that year. This share of market for tomatoes dropped in Nogales to 20 percent in 2013-14 and 19 percent in 2014-15.

The Nogales Produce Import Report 2014-15 offers an analysis and comparison of three seasons of fresh produce imports through Nogales using statistics from Marketing News of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service and values as reported to U.S. Customs.

In a Feb. 2 press release, Lance Jungmeyer, president of FPAA, indicated this report “is a tool we have developed to help our members understand the overall picture of fresh produce imports and see what their participation in the industry may be. It also may help them understand the tendencies and detect opportunities to explore.”  

Nogales' reported total volume of 5.9 billion pounds of fresh produce at the end of 2014-15 season is a continued overall increase since the 2012-13 season, when total produce imports were almost 5.7 billion pounds.

Approximately 89 percent of 2014-15 volume is comprised of just 10 items and their different varieties, although there are over 50 different fruits and vegetables to satisfy the growing demand making their way from Mexico into the country through Nogales.

Based on volume, the 10 items are tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, squash, Bell peppers, grapes, mangos, chili peppers, melons and eggplant.  

The full report is available at www.freshfrommexico.com.