About 80 percent of the produce in the Villahermosa market has passed through either

the Mexico City or the Puebla Market previously. Domestic as well as imported produce may

be purchased at the market. For example, California tomatoes may be found when domestic

tomatoes are out of season.

 Based upon observations and discussions with several buyers and carriers, produce losses

of 30 percent of a shipment are not rate and the average loss is in the 10-to-15 percent range.

Obviously this varies with the commodity. Refrigerated fruit is just becoming acceptable.

Traditionally buyers have preferred to buy off the truck, believing that product wouldn't be

refrigerated if it wasn't old.

 The Villahermosa market ordinarily does not serve any supermarkets, as they are

'generally supplied from Mexico City and only buy in the regional market when they are caught

short. The net effect of this is that a supermarket may sell produce grown a few miles away,

trucked 500 miles into Mexico City, held for up to 48 hours in the Mexico City Central market,

and finally trucked 500 miles back to the local supermarket.


SUPERMARKETS

 Mexico has many supermarkets, organized in chains using the U.S. model. These chains

have common advertising, store images, warehouses, and many other aspects typical of

supermarkets in the U.S.. The more upscale supermarkets have large selections of refrigerated

and frozen foods, large produce sections similar to those that have become common in the

United States, and a broad mix of imported products, especially branded foods from the United

States or Mexican subsidiaries of U.S. firms.