Now at the beginning of a new millennium, the trend is going to international agribusiness. The products range from everyday spices to haute cuisine condiments to industrial chemicals and food coloring. The problems with the domestic chile industry haven t improved much in the past year. A windy spring and stormy summer, plus insect-transmitted diseases made for a generally poor crop in New Mexico and other states. More and more chile of all varieties is being grown in Central and South American countries.
Labor problems persist.
Disease and insects continue to be problems. Not only will farmers go to other crops, but the chile processors will move south of the border closer to the crops. To meet this challenge, NMSU formed the New Mexico Chile Pepper Task Force with sponsors including the New Mexico Chile Commodity Commission, New Mexico and regional chile processors and growers, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, several USDA organizations, and several NMSU departments. Well, nobody said it was going to be easy. Some farmers are very successful, some less so.