Western states import agricultural laborers from Central America

Guadalajara, Jal. In the problem of labor shortages that affect most of the economic sectors of Jaliscothe field has not been the exception, therefore, together with the states of Michoacan y Guanajuato -main agricultural producers of the country- began to import labor, now from Central American countries.

“Today we have a need for at least 40,000 workers, so labor is being imported from other countries. This year the importation of labor from Guatemala has already begun, mainly ”, he pointed out to The Economistthe president of the Jalisco Agri-Food Council (CAJ), Roberto de Alba.

He explained that previously, the states with the highest agri-food production in the country imported farm workers from entities in the Southeast, mainly Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero, but currently, he said, there is no longer enough labor available, so have had to offer temporary work visas in countries of Central America.

“The first 10,000 temporary work visas for the countryside have already been issued, half of which must be in Jalisco and the other half between Michoacán and Guanajuato, but there is a need to bring another 30,000 workers,” De Alba Macías stressed.

According to the leader of the CAJGiven the current conditions of the labor market, currently a harvester in the countryside of Jalisco earns between 4,000 and 10,000 pesos a week, mainly in the berry fields where they work piecework.

“Since labor is brought in from other states or from other countries, the workers come to concentrate on their job and be as efficient and productive as possible, and earn as much money as possible,” he explained.

Roberto de Alba said that, for his part, agricultural workers of Mexican origin who obtain work visas to work in the fields in the United States, “are seeing great opportunities since they have the opportunity to apply for a legal visa that gives them the opportunity to have a salary in very favorable conditions”.

He mentioned that those harvesters who are going to Florida get salaries that range between 80,000 and 200,000 Mexican pesos per month.

“Right now, the greatest need in the countryside is labor,” stressed De Alba Macías.