luis bazan

PHARR, Texas - Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan spoke about plans for a second span for the bridge when he gave remarks at IWS2.

IWS2 was an industrial warehouse summit hosted recently by the Pharr Bridge Board and held at Pharr Development and Research Center. The theme for the summit was, “Building a Competitive Border Region for Near-Shoring and Industrial Growth.”

Here are his remarks. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Unlike Nuevo León, Coahuila and Jalisco, the state of Tamaulipas has seen no benefit from the wave of large manufacturing corporations returning to North America from the Far East.

That’s according to a report from Index Nacional, the maquiladora trade association.

The Index report has caught the attention of economic development leaders in the Rio Grande Valley, who know their region would benefit if Tamaulipas could pull in more mega manufacturing projects. 

The failure of Tamaulipas to attract corporations that want to come back from the Far East was discussed at two recent Valley events.

The first was a Pharr Bridge Board meeting. Both Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan and the president of the Greater McAllen Area Chapter of the Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos (AEM), Francisco J. Peña-Valdés, brought up the subject in reports to the bridge board members. 

Later the same day, Peña-Valdés discussed it at a webinar AEM hosted that was focused on near-shoring. During the webinar, Peña-Valdés asked McAllen Economic Development Corporation President Keith Patridge for his analysis.

This podcast focuses on Tamaulipas’ failure thus far to benefit from near-shoring, with commentary from Bazan, Peña-Valdés, and Patridge. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - The start of the fresh produce season was celebrated at the Pharr International Bridge recently with an event titled “A Taste of Trade.”

The event was hosted by the Pharr Bridge Board.

One of the speakers at the event was Pharr International Bridge Director Luis Bazan.

During the festivities the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service conducted an interview with Bazan, along with some of the growers and shippers that use the bridge to import fresh produce from Mexico.

Here is the podcast.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - The start of the fresh produce season 2021-22 was celebrated at the Pharr International Bridge on Oct. 7.

Produce growers, importers, distributors, and consumers from the United States and Mexico were in attendance for the annual event.

The Pharr International Bridge is No. 1 in the nation for moving fresh produce. It averages 200,000 fresh produce shipments per year. It is No. 1 in the nation for the importation of pineapples and avocados. It is No. 2 in the nation for the importation of berries. And it is No. 3 in the nation for the importation of tomatoes.

This information was provided by Ken Roberts of World City, a publication that tracks imports and exports U.S. Census data.

“The Pharr International Bridge continues to remain the #1 Produce gateway in the nation,” said Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, ahead of the event. “Our bridge director, board, and staff continue to do an outstanding job working with all our partners to continue to expand growth and access through our bridge and we look forward to another record-setting season.”

At the event, Hernandez said the “unsung heroes” of the Pharr International Bridge were the consumers that use the port of entry.

Pharr International Bridge Director Luis Bazan pointed out that the U.S. has consistently remained Mexico's No. 1 trading partner for produce and goods. He said Pharr's ideal geographical location has resulted in not only a great partnership between the two countries, but also in the growth of their produce trading capacity. 

“The Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge has evolved into the largest land port for fruits and vegetables in the nation,” Bazan told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service. “Currently, the Pharr International Bridge crosses more than 65 percent of all the fresh produce coming from Mexico through Texas land ports of entry.”

Ken Roberts and World City reported that the U.S. imported $355.10 million worth of lemons and other citrus produce through the bridge. The value of peppers, asparagus, and squash, etc., crossing into the U.S. via the bridge was $428.01.71 million. The value of tomatoes crossing into the U.S. via the bridge was $592.72 million. The value of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries crossing into the U.S. via the bridge was $954.71 million. And the value of avocados, dates, figs and pineapples crossing the same bridge was worth $1.43 billion. 

The attached podcast features all the comments made from the podium by Mayor Hernandez and Bridge Director Bazan at the season kickoff event.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas – Each week, Pharr International Bridge holds a “virtual” town hall meeting for the international trade community.

The series is called BridgeConnect LIVE. Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Pharr International Bridge Board would hold the events in-person once a month. 

Now, because of the threat of COVID-19, the events are held once a week on Facebook. The series is called “The Effects of COVID-19.” 

Session 13 was titled “Frequently Asked Questions.” The topics discussed included:

• Pharr Bridge Hours of Operation
• Types of Payments
• Travel permits into Mexico
• Limit of passengers per vehicle into Mexico
• Non-essential travel into USA
• Ages for essential travels into Mexico
• Proper safety measures
• Proper documentations for essential Doctor visits

Part 13 was hosted by the Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan.

The session was conducted in Spanish. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.