The U.S. imported less than $3 billion in agricultural products from Mexico in 1993, the year before the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. That level has increased by nearly 1,500% through 2025.
Mexico now accounts for more than 20% of all U.S. food imports, according to Luis Ribera, an agricultural economy expert at Texas A&M University. The U.S. imported $16.1 billion in fresh produce in 2025, according to a university analysis.
"We don't have to wait for products to be in season for us to consume it year-round," said Ribera. "Having those partners is very important for the affordability of food here in the U.S."
Yet the same supply chains that keep U.S. grocery shelves stocked have also periodically exposed consumers to foodborne illness.
U.S. food safety investigations over the last two decades have traced outbreaks to imported Mexican fruit and vegetables, including peppers, cantaloupes, cilantro and leafy greens.
The outbreaks have prompted scrutiny of irrigation water, sanitation practices and food-safety controls across the fragmented networks of growers, packers and distributors. The FDA has imposed safeguards in some regions, though those exporters, growers and processors in Mexico are already subject to U.S. food-safety requirements.
However, there is no uniform certification policy requiring all Mexican produce suppliers to demonstrate their irrigation water is safe before exporting to the U.S., experts said.
Cristobal Chaidez, a food-safety researcher at Mexico's National Laboratory for Research in Food Safety, said agricultural water is a persistent vulnerability in fresh produce production in Mexico.
"During a drought, if a small farmer finds a water source, they might use it even if it's poor quality," he said, adding that food companies ultimately bear responsibility for policing their supply chains.
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