Del Monte Fresh Produce Amends Brownstein Registration

Why It Matters

Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. filed a registration amendment with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP on September 23. A termination filing for Brownstein's engagement with Del Monte has a termination date of January 1, 2025, after which Ballard Partners LLC filed a first quarter of 2026 report on April 15, 2026. That engagement ended July 20, 2026. Del Monte's lobbying has historically focused on foreign relations, taxation and transfer pricing, and agriculture and food safety.

By the Numbers

Over the past four quarters, Del Monte's lobbying expenditures totaled $240,000. Two lobbyists are registered at Brownstein: Doug Maguire, Policy Director, and Lauren Diekman, Policy Director.

Broader Context

Del Monte is a vertically integrated producer and distributor of fresh fruit and vegetables with major growing operations in Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and other Central American countries. The Trump administration imposed reciprocal tariffs under Executive Order 14257, with Costa Rican agricultural exports initially subject to tariffs as high as 15%, while Guatemala, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Honduras were each subject to 10% reciprocal tariffs. The administration subsequently modified those tariffs, exempting tropical fruits including bananas, pineapples, avocados, and mangoes, according to a White House fact sheet. Del Monte's first quarter of 2026 quarterly report also disclosed that taxing authorities in three foreign jurisdictions issued income tax deficiencies related to transfer pricing totaling approximately $272.5 million, covering tax years 2012 through 2021.