Did you know that nearly half of the United States’ vegetables and 40 percent of its imported fruit is grown in Mexico?
The President is threatening to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border and he actually goes through with it, Americans (and their fridges) would suffer the consequences. Most of the avocados, limes, and just about any other fruit or veggie you love to eat, is heavily reliant on Mexican imports. In addition to avocados, the majority of imported tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries and raspberries come from Mexico. According to the latest data from the United States Department of Agriculture, almost half of the fresh produce throughout the country is grown below the border.
Over the weekend, Trump said that there was a “likelihood” he would close the border this week if Mexico didn’t prevent immigrants from reaching the U.S.
A border shutdown would disrupt millions of legal border crossings and asylum seekers, as well as billions of dollars in trade. The U.S. would lose $137 billion dollars specifically tied to food and alcohol imports, causing a major impact on American consumers by resulting in higher prices. To put this in Angeleno perspective: Mexico supplies virtually 100 percent of the avocados in the U.S. right this time of the year. California just began growing avocados but the crop is fairly small and won’t be for another month or so.
The shutdown would run both ways, seeing that Mexico is the largest importer of U.S. exports of refined fuels like diesel and gasoline.
Also published on Medium.