NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — In Mexico blockades by truckers are blocking a lot of the fresh fruit and vegetables that brighten up winter tables this holiday season. Thanksgiving food supplies may be unaffected but shortages could hit about the time you finish the holiday leftovers.
Normally Chamberlain Distributing in Nogales is full of fruit and vegetables headed for your grocery store and your table but now supplies are getting thin and there’s not much prospect of getting new product because of what Mexican truckers are doing in Mexico.
There’s not much produce to move in the Chamberlain Distributing warehouse.
32 trucks were due there Monday. Three showed up.
Truckers in Mexico have been blocking roads to the ports. They want the Mexican Government to give them better protection from cartels that hijack cargo or force truckers to smuggle drug loads.
Jaime Chamberlain says the blockade is putting a serious hit on his business but he feels the truckers really do need help.
“It's not just affecting fresh fruits and vegetables. It's affecting the mining industry. It's affecting the manufacturing industry. There are dozens and dozens of loads stolen all the time, and the Mexican government just doesn't seem to bring it to the forefront of importance in the way that it should be.
Chamberlain says Mexican farmers have joined in the protest over water issues and the prices they get for their crops.
He says the blockade should not affect Thanksgiving because most stores already have those deliveries but shortages could show up soon after.
On the Mexican side of the border Gabriel Cabrella helps companies meet all the legal requirements to get cargoes through Customs and into the US.
He’s hoping the truckers, the farmers and the Mexican government can reach an agreement and get things moving again.
“The Mexican authorities have made it clear that they are willing and able to accept and negotiate with them, so we are hoping that those negotiations happen soon. So we can, you know, pass this, these demonstrations that are affecting Mexico currently.”
But until truckers agree to get rolling again the road from Mexican growers to your table will be blocked.