New Mexico’s green chile season is in full swing as the aroma of fresh roasted peppers permeates the air, but growers and exporters in Mexico are just as busy and that’s causing a crunch at the international border.
This 2021 image provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a truckload of green chiles waiting to be inspected at the port of entry at Columbus, N.M. Border authorities said Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, that they are assigning more agricultural specialists to the port to handle the increase in chile imports. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
As part of “Operation Hot Chile,” Jimenez said agricultural inspectors are being assigned to Columbus from other locations to help with the increased traffic. Despite more imports, New Mexico farmers are seeing higher yields from their crops and the state's reputation for growing what many have anointed as “the best green chile in the world" is expanding, said Travis Day, executive director of the New Mexico Chile Association.
So far this season, officials said New Mexico’s green chile harvest is more than 10 days ahead of schedule and experts are expecting between 55,000 and 60,000 tons of peppers to be harvested.