Opinion: Could Mexico make America great again? The bilateral agriculture relationship

Just astatine the extremity of past year, successful November 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins led the largest public-private cultivation delegation the United States has ever sent to Mexico.

Hundreds of American concern leaders and authorities officials traveled to Mexico City to enactment done challenges and — much importantly — to fortify and grow cultivation ties betwixt some countries.

Then, conscionable past week, Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas headed different U.S. delegation to Mexico, again focused squarely connected agriculture.

And, astir perfectly timed, we’re present conscionable a mates of weeks distant from the Super Bowl, an lawsuit for which Mexico is expected to export a record-breaking measurement of avocados to the United States: much than 280 cardinal pounds (around 127,000 tonnes). How and wherefore the astir iconic American sporting lawsuit ended up being inseparable from 1 of the astir Mexican dishes — guacamole — is inactive a enigma to me. If anyone knows the root story, delight enlighten me.

Jokes aside, erstwhile furniture secretaries, senators and avocados are each moving northbound and southbound astatine the aforesaid time, it’s usually a motion that thing important is happening. And yes, thing has been happening for a portion now. I’ll concisely stock four reasons wherefore Mexico is extraordinarily applicable to the U.S. cultivation industry.

Agricultural diplomacy successful Mexico, North American edition, with yours truly. Left: Secretaries Julio Berdegué 🇲🇽 and Brooke Rollins 🇺🇸. Right: Sen. Roger Marshall and the AMCHAM crew.

First and foremost is how overmuch Mexico buys from American farmers. Mexico is the fig 1 destination for U.S. cultivation exports, reaching $30.3 cardinal successful 2024, up of some China and Canada. Agricultural commercialized with Mexico supports much than 325,000 U.S. jobs, from workplace fields to processing plants, obstruction lines and ports, making Mexico 1 of the astir indispensable pillars of agrarian employment successful America.

Second, and contrary to what galore radical think, the cultivation sectors of Mexico and the United States are complementary, not competitive. The 2 countries bash not turn the aforesaid things, astatine the aforesaid time, oregon successful the aforesaid way.

Mexico supplies fruits, vegetables and brew astatine standard — often erstwhile those products are retired of play successful the U.S. Meanwhile, the United States supplies Mexico with grains, feed, meat, dairy and staples that Mexico structurally imports. Mexico depends connected imports for astir 50% of its maize and astir 95% of its soybeans, with the U.S. holding a ascendant marketplace share. David Ricardo would beryllium proud: this is textbook comparative vantage successful action, wherever each state specializes wherever it is strongest, creating determination nutrient information alternatively than zero-sum competition.

Third, and intimately linked to that point, is the stabilizing effect connected prices and depletion for mundane Americans. Nearly fractional of U.S. cultivation imports from Mexico are products that are retired of play oregon not wide grown domestically. Mexico supplies implicit 50% of U.S. caller effect imports and astir 70% of caller rootlike imports. This keeps market shelves stocked year-round and dampens terms volatility, particularly during upwind shocks.

In agriculture, stableness is value. Integrated commercialized acts arsenic a daze absorber against clime volatility and seasonal scarcity. I won’t dive into clime alteration here, but droughts, hurricanes and fires talk for themselves, and coordination successful this assemblage is not optional if we privation to debar superior trouble.

Lastly, to support this abbreviated and sweet, is looking ahead. Mexico’s demographics, poorness simplification and (hopefully) sustained economical maturation constituent to a rising marketplace for U.S. farmers and producers. Over the past six years, Mexico has lifted astir 13 cardinal radical retired of poverty, expanding its mediate people and purchasing power. Rising incomes thrust dietary upgrading: much protein, dairy, processed foods and higher-quality products. At the aforesaid time, Mexico’s younger colonisation means request maturation is demographic, not cyclical (don’t hide to work my substance connected demographics — it’s a bully one). Why does this matter? Because a growing, wealthier Mexico means much consistent, semipermanent request for U.S. cultivation exports — particularly grains, feed, nutrient and dairy.

Put together, this is simply a beauteous coagulated acceptable of arguments: Mexico arsenic the fig 1 purchaser of U.S. cultivation products; a profoundly complementary accumulation system; a stabilizing unit for prices and consumption; and wide upside imaginable successful the years ahead. Make nary mistake: Mexico is cardinal for U.S. farmers and producers, and truthful for the broader American economy.

That’s each for this week. I admit you speechmaking and sharing this piece. Substack keeps congratulating maine connected the increasing fig of readers, and that makes my Sunday penning adjacent much worthwhile.

If this is the archetypal clip you’ve work maine here, this substance is portion of a bid titled “Could Mexico Make America Great Again?” You tin find each the texts successful my illustration oregon pursuing these links: i) Intro; ii) China; iii) Demographics; iv) Co-production; v) Artificial intelligence; vi) Energy; vii) Autos.

Cheers — and spot you adjacent week!

Pedro Casas Alatriste is the Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico (AmCham). Previously, helium has been the Director of Research and Public Policy astatine the US-Mexico Foundation successful Washington, D.C. and the Coordinator of International Affairs astatine the Business Coordinating Council (CCE). He has besides served arsenic a advisor to the Inter-American Development Bank.