06-02-2025
These Arizona businessmen help feed the nation, but they're not farmers
Morning. In today's opinions newsletter: How Arizona feeds the nation, plus Phoenix's immigration protests and the struggles of a mom who works four jobs and still can't buy a home.
Guillermo Martinez is not your stereotypical produce importer.
He studied physics and dreamed of working for NASA.
But he's the fifth generation in this business. His extended family owns a regional chain of grocery stores in Mexico. You might say that fruits and vegetables are in his blood.
So, he founded Frello Fresh, a small but still relatively new produce importer amid a sea of giant, refrigerated warehouses along Interstate 19 north of Nogales. Together, they process billions of pounds of produce each year from Mexico.
Elvia Díaz and I visited him on Friday, just hours before President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Mexican produce, to learn how this often overlooked part of the food system works.
What we found, and I explain in more detail today, is that imported produce is a key part of how Arizona helps feed the nation — and that any changes to this complex system are bound to increase our grocery bills.
