McALLEN, TX — With record attendance, hot-button topics, government and industry VIPs from the U.S. and Mexico and a new business expo component, the third annual America Trades Produce Conference, held here March 6-8 at the McAllen Convention Center, displayed deepening dialogue and a new willingness on the part of participants to forego surface formalities, roll up their sleeves and go to work to take advantage of the increasingly important influx of produce from south of the border into the United States.

If the first ATPC was the equivalent of dipping a toe in a cold pool, the third was a cannonball splash. About 350 attendees debated thorny issues like free trade, improving regulatory and market access cooperation, food safety, congested ports of entry and controlling invasive pests and diseases that travel both ways across the border.

And with the Pena Nieto administration setting a new path for Mexico and President Obama returning to office in the United States, speculation about how the two administrations may work together was the thread that wove the other topics together.

"All in all, you can feel the momentum of this conference, and it's reflective of the momentum in our industry," said Bret Erickson, president of the Texas International Produce Association, which hosts the ATPC in conjunction with the Nogales, AZ-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. "We're in the midst of an evolution here and ATPC has proven itself to be a great way to get your hands around what's happening between the U.S. and Mexico."

According to some estimates, as much as one-third of the fruit and two-thirds of the vegetables consumed in the United States comes from Mexico, primarily through Nogales and Texas ports of entry. Ongoing road improvements in Mexico are expected to have a dramatic impact on the flow of produce from that country through Texas to the U.S. East Coast in coming months and years.

"The more that Mexican fruit and vegetable imports go up, the more we need to have good dialogue between importers, service providers and government regulators," said FPAA President Lance Jungmeyer. "This event is the best forum for bringing these groups together. We were pleased with the overall turnout. The fact that attendance continues to grow shows the increased emphasis on Mexican fruit and vegetable imports."

Trade between the United States and Mexico tops $400 billion a year, according to panelist Carlos Vazquez, an economist with the Mexico Institute of Technology. And while there is an imbalance, with about $60 billion more flowing from the U.S. into Mexico than vice versa, Mr. Vazquez noted that "of every dollar in Mexican goods exported to the U.S., about 40 cents is returned" in the form of American technology and services that are utilized to produce those products.

Coming in the wake of the new U.S. Department of Commerce tomato suspension agreement with producers and exporters of fresh tomatoes from Mexico announced March 4, this year's conference might well have been subtitled "The Tomato Wars."

Two days before ATPC opened, Commerce published the final version of the agreement, which sharply increases floor prices of Mexican tomatoes in the United States, effective immediately.

That led to a heated session March 7 in which the words "Florida tomato cartel" were thrown around more than once in reference to Florida growers whom Mexican entities consider to be the driving force behind an agreement - designed to prevent marketing of Mexican product at a price that impacts U.S. growers negatively - they consider to be unbalanced and even punitive.

While the Mexican contingent was clearly angry over the revamped suspension agreement, with continued discussion spilling over into the sessions the following day, Mexican growers have lived and worked under similar agreements for 16 years.

Panelist Martin Ley, vice president of Nogales, AZ-based importer Del Campo Supreme, said the revamped regulations will spur the tomato industry south of the border and "it's going to make Mexico better. This is not about fair. It's about what is."

ATPC attendees also had opportunities to take tours of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, where most Mexican produce enters Texas, and Quanta Lab, a California-based safety and sanitation operation with a network of affiliates throughout Texas. And for the first time there was a trade expo component that drew some 30 exhibitors who set up booths on the show floor.

"The 2013 America Trades was a great success and the initial reviews have been overwhelmingly positive," Mr. Erickson said. "The Pharr-Reynosa/Quanta Lab tour was wildly popular, people had no idea what's happening behind the scenes here and I think they were incredibly impressed. We also had the addition of the expo, which helped provide a more well-rounded event where people can learn something and conduct a little business at the same time.

“Most Americans have only seen one side of the coin in terms of Mexico. Top of mind, we know about the ongoing and real violence. We know about the people trying to enter the U.S. by any means and we may have other perceptions about our southern neighbor. What most people do not know is Mexico has a growing GDP, impressive customs modernization efforts, many trade agreements [and] billions of dollars in trade every year,” said Dan Garcia from international packaging provider BK Well's Atlanta office, which had a booth at America Trades. “I have to say that I would also not have been so well informed about Mexico's progress and the linked benefits to our U.S. economy had I not participated in America Trades. This event was concise, lucid and informative.”

"We're looking forward to building on the success of the expo component," he continued. "The speaker lineup was about as informative and well-rounded as you can get and they did a great job of painting a vividly clear picture of what's happening in our industry, from the local level to the international level."