perishables movements. It should be noted, however, that some ports may become significant

for perishables movements due to their proximity to production areas. This is particularly true

with respect to the Southern Mexico. For example, Transportacion Maritima Mexicana and Del

Monte recently announced the creation of Global Reefer Carriers geared primarily to handle Del

Monte's worldwide trade (Brennan, 1993b). Under Mexico's new Law of Ports (see subsection

on Privatization below), Global Reefer Carriers has been granted concessions to develop

specialized terminals for handling refrigerated containers and, possibly, non-containerized

refrigerated cargos in Puerto Madero, among the smallest of the top 18 ports, and Dos Bocos,

a minor terminal for Pemex located in Tabasco. Both of these ports are adjacent to tropical fruit

production areas.

 Descriptions of existing and proposed marine perishables services between the U.S. and

Mexico are presented in Appendix 1.


PORT OPERATIONS/MANAGEMENT

 Prior to the current administration, the maritime sector was highly protected and subject

to both widespread political corruption and strong unions. As a result, Mexico's ports are

extremely inefficient. Problems within the ports frequently are exacerbated by inadequacies in

the road system serving the port and the quality of equipment and service provided by FNM.

Reflecting these conditions, 60 percent of Mexican companies route East Coast imports and

exports through Houston, rather than a Mexican port. Similarly, 30 percent of cargos through

the West Coast pass through California ports. A Mexican carrier noted that transit time from

Japan to Mexico City was 14 days via Long Beach, versus 19 days via a Mexican port, due to

slow physical handling and customs.