I’m not talking trade policy. It makes sense to get summer crops from South America in winter/spring! It ridiculous to get months old apples from there. The US regulatory and monetary system facilitates big players.

Today you have buyer cartels purchasing in bulk and fixing prices. They demand quantities and pricing that shut the market to most players.

I can’t buy lettuce in NY at retail because the supply chain from Arizona and California is fubar. Farmers in NY will be harvesting lettuce from high tunnels soon, but they don’t have access to markets and can’t scale.