Nogales is America’s biggest fresh produce port of entry.  It balances quality with quantity, bringing fresh fruits and vegetables across the border from Mexico to the United States and Canada year-round.

 Nogales is Arizona’s biggest international border town and features in the Dennis DeConcini and Mariposa Ports of Entry the most-used ports in the United States for trucks – more than a hundred thousand per year – more than fifteen hundred trucks per day at peak, as well as passenger and commercial vehicles and pedestrian traffic.  

The word “nogales” means “walnuts” in Spanish, but a lot more than that comes across the border from Mexico every growing season.  Tomatoes, grapes, citrus, peppers, melons, squash and cucumbers; beans, tropical fruits, avocadosl. Even Southbound to Mexico table grapes and stonefruit from California, apples from Washington, pears and Christmas trees from Oregon are featured goods in a city that operates a diverse and thriving produce market year-round.  About 70% of produce that enters the United States in the fall, winter and spring seasons comes through Nogales. 

Each year, almost 4 billion pounds of produce are crossed from Mexico with an estimated value of $1.5 billion.  The produce industry is the largest single private employer in southern Arizona.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Port of entry in Nogales to get nearly $200 million in stimulus funding

NOGALES — The Mariposa Port of Entry will receive almost $200 million for construction from the U.S. General Services Administration through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“This is important for all of Arizona,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva, who broke the news to Mayor Octavio Garcia Von-Borstel on Tuesday afternoon.
The package for Mariposa totals about $199.4 million, Grijalva said.
“Not only will it help our local economy, but our communities are increasingly concerned about security,” he said. “Safety along our border is vital as Arizona continues to become more important in trade with Mexico. The funding is crucial in modernizing border infrastructure that will enhance security while promoting economic development and improving the quality of life in the border region.”