VZCZCXRO8701
RR RUEHCD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHGD #0144 1032202
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 132202Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL GUADALAJARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1341
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 2515
RUEHGD/AMCONSUL GUADALAJARA 5397

UNCLAS GUADALAJARA 000144 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD ECON PREL MX
SUBJECT: MEXICO'S PANTRY STRUGGLES UNDER NEW TARIFFS; US PRODUCE 
EXPORTS AT RISK 
 
REF: A)  GUADALAJARA 131,  B)  MEXICO 808 
 
¶1.  Summary:  In Jalisco, the impact of the new Mexican tariffs 
set on 90 products imported from the US has been more than 
symbolic. The region is a significant consumer of US food 
exports, some of which have now been imperiled by the new 
duties.  Jalisco companies specializing in US produce are 
beginning to modify their practices to adjust to the change in 
prices.  If the tariff issue is not swiftly resolved, it could 
lead to a permanent shift to suppliers in other countries, or a 
discontinuance of the sale of some products in the local market, 
thereby hurting US export income and employment.  End summary. 
 
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KICKING A DOWN MARKET: 
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¶2.  With produce sales already down by 40 percent due to a 
recessionary economy and unfavorable exchange rate, the new 
tariffs could hardly have come at a worse time for the vendors 
of imported agricultural products.  While the business community 
understands the reasons for the Mexican government's actions in 
retaliation for the US ban on the entry of Mexican trucks, there 
is no denying the local impact.  Some major vendors told us that 
sales of targeted US agricultural goods could fall by another 20 
percent or more, and they are beginning to modify their 
practices to adjust to the change in prices. 
 
¶3.  A meeting between the US Commercial Services and UCMA (Union 
de Comerciantes del Mercado de Abastos) the trade association 
representing the grocers at the largest central food market in 
the state, revealed that while most of the products on the 
tariff list can be easily substituted, those vendors specialized 
in imports of almonds, grapes and other fruits, have been 
especially hard hit.  UCMA representatives were very anxious to 
see the new tariffs removed. 
 
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TRYING TO COPE: 
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¶4.  While vendors have been encouraged to try to develop local 
sources for the products they import, this is impractical in the 
short term and impossible for certain products such as grapes 
which require different climactic conditions.  Buying from 
suppliers in other countries is possible in some cases, but 
presents difficulties since clients are accustomed to the US 
products (one grocer told us he had explored buying table grapes 
in Chile, but could not find the specific variety his customers 
desired in that country). 
 
 ¶5.  Almond importers have found a temporary solution to the 
tariff-induced price hike, which is to import whole almonds 
instead of processed almonds as they had in the past.  The 
importer then has all of the value adding processing such as 
slicing, done in Mexico, to cut down on the costs.  For other 
products where processing is unnecessary, such as for specialty 
grapes, bulk importers have little choice but to pass the price 
down to their customers, resulting in a sharp drop in demand. 
 
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RESTAURANTS SUFFERING TOO: 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  It's not only the grocers that have been hurt by the new 
tariffs.  The US citizen owner of the Outback Restaurant 
franchise in western Mexico told us that a number of his key 
ingredients sourced from the US have also been affected, raising 
his costs and damaging sales in an already soft restaurant 
market, and raising the risk of layoffs for his 400-person 
workforce.  Both he and some of his US suppliers are writing to 
their Congressional representatives outlining the negative 
effects of the tariffs on their businesses and urging a prompt 
settlement of the trucking dispute. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
COMMENT:  US JOBS AND INCOME AT RISK 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7.  While the Mexican government carefully targeted the tariffs 
for maximum impact in the United States, there has been some 
collateral damage in western Mexico, affecting influential 
produce importers and some high-profile international investors. 
 The real losers are US exporters.  If the tariff issue is not 
resolved quickly, more and more vendors will seek alternate 
sources of supply, or discontinue sales of some products 
altogether because they are no longer profitable.  Consumer 
tastes and shopping patterns could also shift, and companies 
that have taken on more value-added processing tasks, like the 
almond sellers, might not return to pre-tariff practices.  All 
of this threatens US jobs and export income. 
 
RAMOTOWSKI