Texas Border Business
Pharr, Texas – City of Pharr officials and Pharr International Bridge leaders celebrated the start of the 2020-2021 Produce Season by welcoming guests to a showstopping array of brightly displayed fresh fruits and vegetables at the annual bi-national event held at the Pharr International Bridge. Guests included dignitaries and produce growers, importers, distributors, and consumers from the United States and Mexico.
“The Pharr International Bridge is the heart and soul of Pharr for economic development,” said Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D. “We are especially proud of the hard work of our bridge staff and board for the great success our port of entree continues to experience,” he continued. “We are thrilled to remain the #1 Produce Bridge in the United States, with over 65% of all produce from Mexico crossing through Pharr,” he added. “It takes a team and we have been working diligently with many partners to ensure that our bridge continues to have the infrastructure, resources, and funding to meet our future needs,” Hernandez expressed.
Mayor Hernandez and Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan both noted that Pharr is investing $40 million dollars at the port of entry for expansion and growth. Additionally, they discussed Pharr’s work with programs such as the STAC (South Texas Assets Consortium) Program, the DAP 16 (Donations Acceptance Program), the UTRGV agriculture lab and training center, and the current bridge expansion project which will add more lanes to improve the flow of traffic.
“This year we averaged 15,000-16,000 shipments of fresh produce per month at the Pharr International Bridge,” said Bazan. That is why we are the #1 produce bridge in the nation,” he continued. “This September we had our best month ever in our almost 26-year history, as we had over 120,000 crossings from the U.S. to Mexico both north and southbound,” he stated. “While we continue to face our challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are doing everything we can to ensure that our crossings continue safely, expediently, and efficiently as we continue to adapt, but there is no stopping our success,” he added.
The U.S. has consistently remained Mexico’s No.1 trading partner for produce and goods and Pharr’s ideal geographical location has resulted in not only a great partnership between the two countries, but also in the growth of their produce trading capacity. The Pharr International Bridge will be celebrating its 26th anniversary in November.
The celebration concluded with the ceremonial cutting of the fruit.
