Labor-Intensive U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Industry Competes in a Global Market

Linda Calvin and Philip L. Martin

Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, 2010, 8

Abstract: The U.S. fruit and vegetable industry is labor intensive, pays higher wages than are paid in many other countries, and increasingly operates in a global economy. U.S. fruit and vegetable farms rely on seasonal workers who are likely to be unauthorized immigrants; any future immigration reform could reduce the supply of labor or raise wages. Fruit and vegetable growers may respond to any potential wage increases by reducing the number of seasonal workers employed, adopting mechanized harvesters or other labor-saving technologies in the field, or reducing production.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; International Relations/Trade; Labor and Human Capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uersaw:121429

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.121429

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