Farm Labor and Mexico’s Export Produce Industry
About half of the fresh fruit and a quarter of the fresh vegetables consumed in the US are imported. Half of fresh fruit imports and three-fourths of fresh vegetable imports are from Mexico.
Mexico's farms that produce fruits and vegetables for Americans hire local and migrant workers. There are no reliable data on the wages and working conditions of these farm workers. The purpose of this project is to develop statistically reliable data on the wages and working conditions of farm workers employed in export-oriented avocados, bell peppers, berries, cucumbers, and tomatoes, with a special emphasis how internal migrants are recruited, transported, and housed where they work temporarily.
The goal of the project is to work with all stakeholders, from farmers and workers to buyers, government agencies and NGOs, to develop mechanisms and strategies to improve protections for the workers employed in export-oriented agriculture.
This is a joint project of CIESAS, Migration Dialogue, and the Wilson Center. For further information, please contact Agustin Escobar, Philip Martin, or Andrew Rudman. We appreciate the support of the Walmart Foundation and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
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These initial findings & key recommendations are from the Mexico Institute's ongoing study on Farm Labor and Mexico's Export Produce Industry.
Read the Findings & Recommendations
Export agriculture is an important source of employment for many Mexicans. To understand more about these workers, we have six case studies that highlight different stories from farms in Mexico.
Explore the Case Studies