Agrifood Exports Fall Due to Trump’s Policies

ByMexico Solidarity

This article by Braulio Carbajal originally appeared in the September 21, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

The closure of the United States borders to Mexican beef, coupled with the compensatory quota imposed on tomatoes, caused a 4.3 percent drop in the value of Mexican agricultural exports in the first seven months of the year, according to official data.

According to figures from the Bank of Mexico, between January and July 2025, our country sold agricultural products to the world (mainly the United States) worth $31.64 billion, a figure lower than the $33.70 billion reported in the same period last year.

Regarding imports, during the period in question, they increased from $26.9 billion to $26.23 billion, an increase of 0.5 percent.

Thus, Mexico’s agricultural trade balance ended the first seven months with a positive balance of 4.8 percent, meaning that exports continue to exceed imports. However, the balance is at its worst level since 2018, at 7.3 percent, and is well below the 8.6 percent reported in the same period last year.

By sector, fruit and vegetable exports registered the best performance, with an annual increase of 44.9 percent to $14.233 billion. This strong performance reflects sales of avocados, one of the “star” products of Mexican agriculture, whose exports increased 22.3 percent, from $2.57 billion to $2.516 billion.

Berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry, among others) fell 6 percent in this category, dropping from $2.162 billion to $2.33 billion.

This sector was also pressured by the 18.9 percent drop in tomato exports, with exports falling from $1.989 billion in the first seven months of 2024 to $1.612 billion in the same period this year. This was a consequence of the 17.09 percent compensatory quota imposed by the United States government on July 15, citing unfair trade practices by Mexico.

Regarding agro-industrial products, they registered an annual increase of 9.2 percent in their foreign sales, reaching $2.914 billion, despite the decline of two of Mexico’s flagship products: beer and tequila.

The former fell 3.5 percent annually, from $4.161 billion to $4.14 billion, while the latter fell 8.4 percent, from $2.505 billion to $2.292 billion.

In the grain and oilseed sector, Mexican exports fell by 7.7 percent; however, our country is not known for exporting these types of agricultural products, but rather for importing them, as is the case with corn.

Meanwhile, the livestock sector is another affected sector, with a 7.5 percent decrease to $2.375 billion. The most affected products here are livestock and meat, with a decrease of 18.9 percent, from $1.989 billion to $1.612 billion.

This collapse is a consequence of the U.S. government’s closure of Mexican cattle due to a screwworm outbreak, which has caused millions in losses to the national industry.

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