Kensington area potato farmers have a new export market on the horizon after Canada struck a deal with Mexico to ship fresh potatoes across the border. The agreement, announced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on March 12, 2026, ends a 20-year stretch where the United States was Mexico’s only supplier of fresh potatoes.
The deal follows years of work by Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald, who made trips to Mexico in October 2025 and February 2026 to build ties with officials there. It builds on the Canada-Mexico 2025-2028 Action Plan, which aims to make trade easier by smoothing out rules and inspections.
For Prince Edward Island growers, finding new places to sell their crop is a big deal. In 2024-25, 93 per cent of Canada’s fresh potato exports went to the United States. With trade talks around the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement up in the air, having another option gives farmers more security. Ray Keenan, the CEO of Rollo Bay Holdings in eastern PEI, was part of a group that went to Mexico in 2025 to connect with possible buyers. He figures his company could send several containers south each month once things are up and running.
But that first shipment won’t happen overnight. Mexico is expected to send health officials to Canada in June 2026 to check farms and facilities. Only after those inspections will the green light be given for commercial loads to move. The market is new, and industry voices say it is one piece of a bigger plan. PEI grows about a quarter of Canada’s potatoes, though production dropped close to 16 per cent in 2025 because of dry weather. The new access to Mexico is a chance to bounce back, just not one that will fix everything all at once.
