TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Baja News Wire

El Almeria
Monday June 27, 2001

Companies from Almeria, Spain like Tecnoponiente are already working in Baja California, while others, like Agrobío, are looking to break into the market with others like Cajamar, who are about to sign an agreement with the state representatives.

"We want Baja California to be the gateway to Mexico for shipments from Almeria companies", pointed out Enrique Melero, speaker for the Mexican state and member of a delegation of representatives that has been in Almeria since the beginning of this week. Visits were made to companies and a meeting with leaders of the Chamber of Commerce of Almeria.

According to Fernando Ruano, managing director of the Chamber, Baja California is a great opportunity for the companies in Almeria, dedicated to the agriculture auxiliary industry, to do business and transfer some technology, in this last case, to support the Chamber's agreement, as the institution is expecting to sign an agreement. In this area, there are 10 producing zones.

Agriculture is a "new" sector in the Mexican state, no older than a century, and their farmers have been adapting optimally to changes. The Secretary for Agricultural and Live-stock Development of Baja California, Antonio Rodríguez, stated that the annual growth is around 200 to 300 hectares for the wintering production. "Baja California is the second producer of tomato, cucumber and Mexican strawberry and the first one in onion production. Also the meat sector is important, since we are the first producer of meat for exporting", as Rodriguez indicated.

Source...

"Agriculture is a "new" sector in the Mexican state, no older than a century,"

Sure. If what one means by the term agriculture, is a huge corporate presence.

That "other" agriculture, the one where the common folk scape sustenence from the land, goes back to pre-Colombian times.

Food sources will take on an even increased value in the coming years and it only seems logical the corporate sector is looking to position themselves to take advantage of the best revenue streams that will be available.

Given the combination of the increased Homeland Security actions preventing border crossings and the sick state of the US economy, it appears to me to be genius how several enterprises, that include Los Pinos and the cooperative in Pescadero, that agriculture can flourish while supplying the US table, without having the illegals.

That said, I've read several stories recently about US agricultural businesses that have crops rotting in the fields because Americans won't sign on to the back breaking labor even for $12 an hour.

They ran a report on the news down here the other night of a farm (NOB) who lost all of their workers in an ICE raid weeks ago. They documented the waves of people who signed up for the new job vacancies but very few even completed a days work. Those who did manage to stay on were producing at about 20-30% output of the migrants they had replaced.

But I am sure we will hear the same voices telling us that simply is BS...

Play it out, and there will be skyrocketing costs for produce.

Of course, that scenario has always been one of the major underpinnings of those who like the status quo. Kind of a "don't ask don't tell" phenomenon in the farm industry.

Just another one of those "costs" of illegal immigration that few acknowledge and even fewer truly understand. It has been a give-take situation for a long time - just not as simple as so many want to paint it...