THE EFFECTS OF MEXICAN IMPORTS ON FLORIDA CUCUMBER PRICES

Most areas in the United States produce cucumbers and there is production for commercial fresh market sales in 36 states. Florida, California, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, South Carolina, Maryland, New York, and Michigan are the principal cucumber producing states for this fresh market. The cucumber is not very sensitive to differences in day length and light intensities that occur under field conditions, but it has no resistance even to light frosts. Since cucumber varieties, at present, are not resistant to frost, they cannot be grown successfully as a midwinter crop anywhere in the U.S., except in southern Florida. Occasionally in south Florida, a cucumber crop is wiped out or heavily damaged by cold weather. Florida has not met total U.S. demand for fresh winter cucumbers and much of this demand is met by imports