The results of this research demonstrate the importance of methyl bromide to U.S.
producers supplying fresh vegetables to North American markets. The impacts were
determined for the industry based on production levels for the 1993/94 production
season. That season was chosen for two reasons. First, the 1993/94 season was the last
season before the 1995 freeze was imposed on methyl bromide use by the Montreal
Protocol. Second, the 1993/94 production season was the last normal season experienced
by U.S. growers of fresh vegetables before the effects of NAFTA and the large peso
devaluation that followed (Van Sickle, et al., 1996). Dumping practices followed by
Mexican producers of fresh tomatoes distorted the market in 1995 and 1996 (VanSickle,
1997) and constrained efforts to model economic forces during this period.
 The industry has undergone several changes since the freeze was imposed on
methyl bromide use in 1995. Significant production changes have occurred as Mexican
producers adopted new technologies. The imposition of the suspension agreement has
also altered the economic forces in the market (VanSickle, 1997).
 The Montreal Protocol imposes a 25 % reduction in methyl bromide use for
.developed countries in 1999. That reduction has been implemented with production
constraints placed on methyl bromide producers who are allocating their stock to methyl
bromide users (e.g., vegetable producers). Changes in economic forces have led to a
significant downsizing on the part of the fresh vegetable industry that uses methyl
bromide for soil fumigation purposes. This is demonstrated by the decline in acreage of
fresh tomatoes planted in Florida from 50,600 acres in all of Florida in 1993/94 to 37,500
acres planted in 1996/97 (Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, 1998).
 The effects of these changes in economic forces led to the decline in methyl
 bromide use that made the 1999 reduction appear seamless. The next step in the Montreal
 Protocol schedule is the second 25 % reduction in methyl bromide use in 2001 (equaling
 a total 50 % reduction from 1991 baseline levels), another 20 % in 2003 (a 70 %
 reduction from 1991 baseline levels) and a complete ban in 2005.
 These scheduled phaseouts in 2001, 2003, and 2005 are likely to have much
greater impacts on producers than the phaseout imposed in 1999. These phaseouts need to
be studied for the impacts on producers and mechanisms that could be used to help
vegetable producers deal with these phaseouts. Deepak et al. (in press) evaluated
mechanisms for phasing out methyl bromide given the 2001 phaseout schedule. UNEP
(1998) outlined a broader set of mechanisms that could be used to phase out ozone
depleting substances. Those mechanisms include command and control measures, market
mechanisms, voluntary approaches, and public awareness campaigns. Those mechanisms
need to be evaluated for their potential to be used with methyl bromide and the scheduled
phaseouts in 2001, 2003, and 2005. The phase out of methyl bromide may be much less
seamless in 2001, 2003, and 2005 unless the impacts of alternatives to methyl bromide
are reduced significantly. Further work needs to be completed to better understand these
impacts.
 A multi-disciplinary approach to studying alternatives for methyl bromide should
 be pursued to assess their potential for providing a seamless transition. The USDA
 meetings organized to gain input from a variety of sources was an attempt to understand
 the problems facing this important industry. Those meetings provided a forum for
 debating the potential for alternative production practices, but the opinions presented did