PHARR, TX - The annual “Start of the Produce Season” event took place in Pharr, Texas, on October 10. So what better place to celebrate than at the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge? The bridge stood as the stage for the day as the city played host to the 2019-2020 Produce Season starting celebration, making the bridge the hottest place to be in the produce industry. Those in attendance included produce growers, importers, distributors, and consumers from the United States and Mexico.

“Pharr continues to remain the leader as the port with the largest amount of produce entering the United States,” said Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D. “Our Pharr International Bridge director, board, and staff have done a wonderful job working with all our partners to continue to expand growth and access through our bridge, and we look forward to another record-setting season.”

Pharr city officials, as well as special guest State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, among other notable representatives from the produce industry on both sides of the border, attended the event for the traditional ‘Cutting of the Fruit.’

According to a press release, the U.S. consistently remains Mexico’s number one trading partner for produce and goods, and Pharr’s ideal geographical location has resulted in a great partnership between the two countries as well as facilitating the growth of the two country’s produce trading capacity. The Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge has evolved into the largest land port for fruits and vegetables in the nation, surpassing Nogales, Arizona, as the leading port of entry for Mexican produce and goods. Currently, the Pharr International Bridge crosses more than 60 percent of all the fresh produce coming from Mexico through Texas land ports of entry.

“The Pharr International Bridge has forged strong partnerships on both sides of the border with distributors, growers, and importers, to ensure that we are meeting the demands of the industry,” said Pharr Bridge Director Luiz Bazan. “Although we experienced a few rough months during the threatened closing of the border, we came up with innovative schedules for our commercial trucks which paid off. Our figures show that we have already exceeded the number of trucks and produce that entered through Pharr this year compared to the same period last year. Pharr continues to invest, plan, and work together with all our partners to expand our opportunities.”

A symbolic place for a vital partnership between the U.S. and Mexico—now that’s a party I can get behind! For more fun and exciting news in the produce world, keep up with us here at ANUK.

Pharr