Industry leaders assess first 100 days of Trump administration 

PLANO, TX – President Trump got elected partially on improving the economy, lowering inflation and making American business more competitive in the global marketplace. 

While some of his policies to achieve these are now in place, the produce industry has dealt with constant uncertainty, and that’s been a tough business climate to work in. 

An expert panel gave its assessment of Trump’s first 100 days during the International Fresh Produce Association BB #:378962 Retail Conference May 1. 

Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association BB #:162361, said his members have been on the front line of the tariff issue, and all the delays and pauses and reinstatements have been a headache. 

“There are times we had hours or minutes to make [import] decisions,” he said. 

From the wholesaler perspective, Stefanie Katzman, CEO of Katzman BB #:103742 said all the tariff uncertainty has made her business much more reactive. The company expects tariffs to increase consumer prices, but it hasn’t hit yet. 

Galeazzi said it’s true that most consumers have not felt tariffs, such as the 10 percent on non-USMCA countries, but that’s because that product is now in the supply chain and has not hit store shelves yet. That will start hitting this month. 

Daniel Bell, Sr., director of produce for Grocery Outlet BB #:154673 said he’s noticed that consumers are scared about the economy and may continue to downsize in their lives, and that’s not all bad for a discount grocer. 

On tariffs, with other countries imposing reciprocal tariffs on U.S. exports, he said there could be excess export-quality product in the U.S. supply chain, which again is an opportunity for Grocery Outlet. 

“We’ve seen produce deflation on the West Coast, so it’s been a good year with our customer counts up,” Bell said. 

Rebecah Adcock, IFPA’s VP, U.S. Government Relations, said Trump officials stress there could be some short-term pain for long-term gain with tariffs, but even in the short term, there will be winners and losers. 

She and Katzman said it’s important for the produce industry to collect data on how tariffs are affecting business and share that with the administration.  

Katzman also said aside from tariffs affecting business, there are many regulations in place that the Trump administration could address that would help produce companies.