University of Arizona By Vera Pavlakovich-Kochi, Ph.D. and Gary D. Thompson, Ph.D
June 2013

Economic Analysis

Fresh Produce and Production-Sharing (Maquiladora) Industries in Santa Cruz County, Arizona

What: A study highlighting the economic impacts of the fresh produce import industry and production-sharing (aka maquiladora) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

Study conducted by:  The University of Arizona (Eller College of Management, Economic & Business Research Center, and the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences)

Made possible by: a grant from the US Economic Development Authority, administered by Nogales Community Development.

The fresh produce importing industry in Santa Cruz County generates:

  • $437.7 million in direct and secondary economic output in Santa Cruz County (this is more than 1/3 of the county’s economic output)
  • $45 million in tax revenue to the state and county
  • About 4,000 direct and secondary jobs, representing $190 million in wages (representing more than 22% of total jobs and nearly 25% of total wages)
  • There is a multiplier effect, benefitting more than 80 local services, from commercial equipment to packaging to legal to insurance services.
  • Arizona is poised to benefit from expanding fresh produce imports. From 2002-2012, Mexican produce imports have grown 42% from 8 billion pounds to more than 14 billion pounds, according to USDA.

The production sharing (maquiladora) industry in Santa Cruz County generates:

  • $304.9 million in secondary economic output in Santa Cruz County (this is more than 15% of the county’s economic output)
  • About 1,800 direct and secondary jobs, representing $66.5 million in wages (representing nearly 10% of total jobs and almost 9% of total wages)
  • $8.7 million in tax revenue to the state and county
  • The maquiladora sector supports about 20 service-related industries.
  • As manufacturers adopt near-sourcing, moving their factories away from China, it has been noted that Mexico poses a huge opportunity for Arizona.


Fact: More than 85% of the 750,000 annual commercial truck crossings between Arizona and Mexico flow through the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz.

The full study, “Bi-National Business Linkages Association with Fresh Produce and Production Sharing: Foundations and Opportunities for Nogales and Santa Cruz County,” released on September 27, 2013.  A copy of the report will be available on the following websites: www.nogalescdc.org; www.freshfrommexico.com; and www.ebr.eller.arizona.edu.

Full study ⬇️

➡️ NCD_EDA_Econ_Report Final

PDF ➡️ Study-Release-One-Pager-Sept-27-201319