Nogales Remains the Produce Go-To in Spring Despite the Challenges

This major port of entry enables easy access to fresh produce.

By Steven Maxwell

Nogales, AZ, located on the U.S.-Mexico border across the Rio Grande from its Mexican neighbor of the same name, has long been famed as a major produce port of entry, enabling easy access to wide swathes of the U.S. However, during the spring, Nogales comes into its own.
According to John Davidson, director of sales at Nogales-based Malena Produce, Nogales fills a window when Canadian- and U.S.-grown product is just starting to be harvested. “Nogales and Mexico product ensures consumers can have fresh produce on a year-round basis as has come to be expected by retailers and U.S. consumers,” he says. “Nogales late season volume is very promotable, especially for Roma and round tomatoes.”
The company is currently promoting green beans, grape and medley tomatoes, and colored bell peppers under its new Allday label in a variety of pack styles. It also markets Roma and round tomatoes, slicer cucumbers, squash and eggplant during the spring and through to the summer.
Starting from mid-late March, fellow Nogales importer Divine Flavor is focused on its West Mexico vegetable program, with Sinaloa and Sonora, the two key regions for the company’s hothouse-grown conventional and organic bell peppers and mini peppers, plus beefsteak, Roma and grape tomatoes. Divine Flavor also markets an assortment of European, slicer, and snacking Persian cucumbers, as well as yellow squash and Italian zucchini.
From there, the company moves to its melon program from mid-April to early May, offering cantaloupe, honeydew, Hami (a new, sweeter, cantaloupe-style melon), plus regular seedless and mini seedless watermelons. Until late July, it is also focused on its Mexican table grape program, before switching to California.
“Spring and summer are key months for all our major commodities, such as bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and grapes, and volume-wise, these are the heaviest months at Divine Flavor,” says Divine Flavor’s Chief Marketing Officer Alan Aguirre Camou.
In a similar vein, for Rico Rico, AZ-headquartered SunFed, spring is marked by the start of the new summer squash, cucumber, and bell pepper imports, as well as a 52-week carrot program. New for 2025, the company also has an expanded Roma tomato program, plus cucumbers from Baja California.
All the products — alongside grape tomatoes — count as staples for SunFed, dominating through to summer when the focus switches to Central Mexico and shipping through Otay Mesa, CA, and Pharr, TX.
THE TARIFF THREAT
But while the spring season is in full swing, there remains one issue dominating the thoughts of many importers: the on-again, off-again question of tariffs.
“With the new administration keeping all of us guessing who’s on first, it seems as if every day is a clean slate,” says SunFed’s vice president of sales and marketing, J.C. Myers. “Thankfully, Nogales is made up of numerous multi-generation folks who have weathered just about every type of season imaginable, and we have an excellent association, the FPAA (Fresh Produce Association of the Americas), representing our best interests.”
Davidson at Malena Produce believes the threat of tariffs could stay with Nogales’ importers and Mexican producers for the foreseeable future with the current administration.
“Malena Produce continues to follow the situation closely,” says Davidson. “It is not impacting our Canadian sales since the tariff does not apply to product going to Canada. We saw an influx of product cross before the tariffs in early March. With the situation being so fluid, we have not been able to determine the long-range impact.”
“For the short term, the main challenge will be what looks to be month to month on the tariffs, and the impact on supply and demand,” he adds. “Fortunately, in February tariffs were lifted before they began and March only lasted three days.”
Aguirre at Divine Flavor describes the situation as an ongoing process, which has a lot of produce companies — not just in Nogales, but across the industry — preparing for all outcomes.
“We’re grateful that an impasse was reached regarding this situation as this has given us time to prepare in case the tariffs go through,” he admits. “We’re keeping a close eye on the situation and reviewing internally, while collecting guidance from around the industry so there is a clear path of communicating the formula we would use and how the legal deductions would apply to lower the tax before being passed along to the customer.”
PROCUREMENT OUTLOOK
Saying that, tariffs are not the only challenge on the horizon for Nogales’ importers. According to Davidson, a lack of water in Mexico during the spring is likely to impact crop selection and yields.
Similarly, Aguirre says that 40% of the table grape crop was lost for Divine Flavor — and parent company Grupo Alta — in Sinaloa due to a combination of Hurricane Otis, cooler weather and water scarcity.
In 2025 to date, Aguirre says many of the company’s grower partners have regained previous production levels, resulting in more volume so far this season. “So far, the outlook for table grapes looks promising, but we’ll know in the coming weeks the forecast for table grapes coming from Sonora, which is generally around the 22-24 million box range,” he adds.
Aguirre says Central Mexico is becoming an opportunity for Divine Flavor, thanks to an abundance of resources, infrastructure and climates to grow in, not to mention the growers already based in the region and the time of the year they produce.
“As a producer-supplier, it is important for us to expand our growing operations where needed so we can service our clients top-quality produce year-round, and central Mexico, alongside Baja Sur, are key growing regions with potential outside the West Mexico areas,” he says.
“The reality of the situation is that new growing territories are emerging where water is abundant.”
YEAR-ROUND OBJECTIVE
Although weather, labor, and costs are often mentioned as challenges for importers, Aguirre says a more recent obstacle has been achieving procurement on a 365-day basis.
Despite this, he says Divine Flavor has taken strides toward overcoming gaps in production and securing procurement from alternative areas of Mexico, which has helped the company transition from one production area to another.
“Mexico used to be at one period of the year, but we firmly believe that gone are the days of seasonal produce in Mexico,” adds Aguirre.
Divine Flavor and Grupo Alta are supporting these efforts through The Better Grower Program, an initiative created to help find “similar-minded suppliers” who believe in the core values of being a reliable source of produce.
The objective, says Aguirre, is to find growers dedicated to delivering great-quality produce, who at the same time comply with stringent food safety practices, and operate ethically on a social and environmental level.
“These are the growers who will stay around in the industry and the alliances we seek for our procurement,” he adds. “The Better Grower Program is the pinnacle of our procurement.”
With shippers often asked to supply products when their own crops are not in season, Davidson at Malena says companies are increasingly focusing on procuring and partnering with other growers to fulfill contracts.
It has, he says, created a unique situation. “Florida cannot supply the needs of the U.S. and Canada, so having Mexico is necessary to be able to fill the gaps,” Davidson argues. “Canada will be looking to Mexico to supply product over the U.S. for the short term.”
HOW NOGALES KEEPS
RETAILERS COMPETITIVE
One key area where Nogales continues to play a major role is in keeping U.S. retailers competitive during the spring, and, according to Aguirre, the city is transforming into an ever larger and more important port of entry for supplying North American retailers.
“It’s hard to speak on behalf of all of Nogales, but for Divine Flavor, what we work diligently on are a variety of factors,” he says. “One: focus on supplying premium quality produce. And two: working from the market backward.”
For the latter, Aguirre says Divine Flavor works closely with retail partners to plan programs with an emphasis on not “overproducing,” so each commodity provides a purpose.
“We are vertically integrated with each of our grower partners, so this gives us an opportunity to plan strategically in all facets of our operation and the supply chain,” he says. “We believe this approach provides balance to the market, which benefits both the retailers and the growers.”
Aguirre adds quality and flavor are two important components to maintaining a competitive edge.
For J.C. Myers at SunFed, keeping competitive is about working with growers who challenge themselves to bring a better product to the U.S. market at the absolute best cost. “Combined with industry-leading packaging tech from StePac and Verdant, retailers can rely upon consistent quality supply through the spring months.”
With the commitment of Nogales’ importers unwavering, it is clear that — in spite of the ongoing threat of tariffs — the city’s position as the leading source for Mexican produce during the spring will remain unchallenged and is only likely to grow.pb