The combination of a stronger U.S. dollar and the Mexican recession that sharply reduced Mexican buying power in 1995 explains the drop in U.S. exports. It is expected that this situation will change with the recovery of the Mexican economy. As trade barriers continue to decline, the relative U.S. position in the Mexican-Canadian market should improve even more. Import competition from Mexican products occurs mainly in the winter months when the primary competition is restricted to Florida and California. This may bring major implications for U.S. fruit growers.
Chile is a major supplier to the U.S. of winter fresh fruit and an important supplier of juices.
Chile does not supply the U.S. market with many vegetable products, but it provides 19 percent of the total volume of U.S. fruit imports. Chile could be an important market for U.S. growers of peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and other stone fruits and nuts. Not very good, since the treaty has opened the border to products that are sold cheaper and are available almost all year round. Many fruit and vegetable growers in the Delta States had start to take action, diversifying or adopting new technologies in order to remain competitive in this difficult market. For example, acreage of grape, strawberry, and peach orchards in Louisiana and Arkansas have been decreasing for the last three years and being replaced by new or innovative crops.