Florida’s $1.1 billion strawberry industry is at the center of a federal trade dispute as U.S. Senator Rick Scott pressures Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to speed up an ongoing antidumping investigation into fresh winter strawberries imported from Mexico.
The push follows an official petition filed on December 31, 2025, by the Strawberry Growers for Fair Trade (SGFT). The coalition of domestic growers alleges that Mexican producers are selling fresh winter strawberries in the United States at less than fair value.
According to federal trade data, imports of Mexican strawberries topped 200 million kilograms and reached a value of $933 million during the November 2024 to March 2025 season. This window perfectly overlaps with the exact months Florida farmers harvest and sell their own crops.
Florida currently supplies about 15 percent of all domestic strawberries, with the industry heavily concentrated in Hillsborough County.
In a letter sent to Secretary Lutnick, Scott argued that the high volume of low-priced imports is heavily distorting the domestic market and driving down prices at the worst possible time for local growers.
“The facts of this case are clear,” Senator Scott wrote. “During the most recent winter season, more than 200 million kilograms of fresh strawberries from Mexico, valued at nearly $1 billion, flooded the U.S. market, much of it priced at a fraction of the cost of production. These dumped imports arrive precisely during the November-through-March window when Florida’s growers harvest their crop, undercutting our farmers at the only time of year they can sell.”
Scott says that the practice mirrors a long-standing “playbook” that has impacted other regional specialty crops over the last 30 years, including tomatoes, blueberries, and bell peppers. He noted that the financial pressure comes on the heels of a particularly brutal stretch for Florida agriculture, which recently absorbed severe damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as a devastating winter freeze.
In his appeal to the Department of Commerce, Scott urged the agency to deny any future timeline extensions requested by foreign producers or opposing entities, which he claims are designed to “run out the clock” and delay trade relief. He asked the agency to calculate the maximum legal dumping rate and to issue its preliminary determination as quickly as possible.
“Food security is national security, and we cannot allow our nation’s ability to feed itself to depend on the trade practices of a foreign government,” Scott wrote. “I encourage you to give full and fair consideration to the facts presented by the Strawberry Growers for Fair Trade and to provide the fullest relief against unfairly priced imports consistent with U.S. law.”
The Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission are continuing their joint investigation into the matter to determine whether anti-dumping duties will be officially imposed on the Mexican imports.
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