directly upon problems and opportunities for trade related to the logistics, that is the physical

and institutional capacity of the system to support perishables movements. In the final section

the principal findings and conclusions are summarized.


CURRENT U.S.-MEXICO AGRICULTURAL TRADE

 In recent years, two way trade in farm products between the U.S. and Mexico has grown

to around $6 billion. In addition, growth has been extremely rapid in trade of more highly

processed foods. Over the past decade, the farm trade balance has shifted back and forth, but

has tended to favor the U.S..

 As might be expected, there are marked differences in the mix of commodities sold by

each nation. In terms of value, fruits and vegetables are the Mexico's most important farm

exports, while grains and oilseeds dominate for the U.S. (Figure 1). Assuming that most

beverages and animal products are perishables, perishables account for approximately half of

Mexican farm exports to the U.S. and a little over a third of U.S. farm exports to Mexico. In

addition, some portion of the 'other' category for each country would be perishables.


THE FOOD SECTOR

 Mexico's food production and processing sectors together account for nearly one seventh

of the Gross Domestic Product (Figure 2).

 Relative to the U.S., Mexico is densely populated (70 versus 111 people per square mile)

and is poorly endowed agriculturally (1.9 versus .7 acres of arable land per person) (U.S.D.A.,

1992). Two thirds of the country is arid or semi-arid and 20 percent of the arable