As consumers across the country continue to grapple with soaring price tags for fresh fruits and vegetables, public scrutiny has shifted to the third-party service arrangements that underpin BMDC’s exclusive produce import program. At the center of the debate is Julio Castillo, a logistics operator who manages critical end-to-end functions for the agricultural marketing board’s imported goods, including product consolidation, packaging, quality inspection and final delivery to BMDC facilities.
The core question driving public discussion is whether this contracted third-party arrangement is adding unnecessary markup costs that ultimately get passed down to everyday shoppers at grocery stores and market stalls. In a recent on-camera interview with reporters, BMDC administrator Valentin Carillo pushed back on framing Castillo as a traditional profit-taking middleman, clarifying his official role within the organization’s import supply chain.
Carillo explicitly stated that BMDC itself did not issue the contract to Castillo, noting that the agreement was arranged directly by the Ministry of Agriculture. When pressed by reporters to clarify whether Castillo functioned as a middleman, Carillo reclassified him as a contracted service provider, not an intermediary seeking margin on the produce itself. “We don’t have a middleman, we have a service provider,” Carillo told reporters, adding that Castillo’s work has proven highly efficient for the board’s operations.
When asked how Castillo was selected for the role, Carillo acknowledged he had no involvement in the hiring process. “When I came in, he was already here,” he explained. Carillo went on to outline the full scope of Castillo’s responsibilities, which covers logistics operations across northern import routes stretching from Mexico City to Puebla. His duties include consolidating incoming produce shipments, sourcing all required packaging materials, and ensuring that products reach BMDC facilities intact and meeting quality standards. Critically, Carillo noted that Castillo assumes full financial responsibility for any losses that occur during transit—including incidents like truck accidents, cargo theft, or driver hijackings—with no cost passed to BMDC.
When asked about payment, Carillo confirmed that Castillo receives a pre-negotiated service fee through BMDC’s operational budget, a structure that has led to questions about whether the fee structure inflates overall import costs that are ultimately reflected in consumer prices. This report is a transcribed excerpt from an evening television news broadcast, with all dialogue transcribed accurately per standard journalistic practice. A full recording of the newscast is available on the outlet’s digital platform.