20 Negocios
Mexican Agroindustry Nurturing the World
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Cover Feature Mexican Shoe Industry feature Mexican agroindustry Special
Mexico is considered among the countries with the largest number of flora and fauna species in the world. The same reasons for which Mexico is a megadiverse country, have favored the development of a strong agribusiness sector. Thus, agriculture has historically been a key-determining factor in Mexico’s economy and health. The country has a territory of over 107.5 million acres of farmland surface and possesses a great climate diversity that allows harvesting agro-food products throughout the year.
A
griculture employs approximately 10% of Mexican population. With its land area, climate diversity and geographic proximity to one of the largest markets in the world (the US), Mexico has a strategic position in terms of export of food. Currently, the country is the 13th largest exporter of agrofood products worldwide, with more than 800 different products in the international markets and the first food supplier for the North American market. In 2010, Mexico’s agro-food exports had a total value of over 16.9 billion usd. The country is the world’s leading exporter of avocado, papaya, mango, processed peppers and organic coffee, and it’s the second largest exporter of fresh tomato, watermelon, beer, lemon, chewing gum and orange pulp. The US is Mexico’s largest agricultural market. Nearly 80% of Mexico’s agricultural exports go that country. Since North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented in 1994, agricultural trade between the US and Mexico has risen dramatically. Mexico’s agricultural exports to the US have expanded by nearly 9% per year, growing twice as fast as they did before NAFTA. Roughly two-thirds of US agricultural imports from Mexico consist of beer, vegetables and fruit. These imports are closely tied to Mexico’s historical expertise in producing alcoholic beverages and a wide range of fruits and vegetables, along with a favorable climate whose growing season largely complements that of the US. Mexican producers comply with the most important sanitary regulations in the world, like the BPA (Buenas Prácticas Agrícolas), Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Points and those from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among others. This guarantees the quality and safety of Mexican agricultural products. Besides crop production, Mexico is one of the ten major meat producers worldwide. The country’s meat exports surpassed 670 million usd during 2010, being Japan, the US and Korea its main markets.
Ancient Wisdom Mexico is one of the world’s largest producers of organic agricultural products. This sector is rooted in the rescue of ancestral farming models and the growing number of organic farmers, companies, certification agencies and farmland show that competitiveness and social development is flourishing. Although organic agriculture in Mexico has a long history and 30 years ago crops were already beginning to be cultivated with more modern production techniques, the sector has grown especially since 1996. Since that year, the sector has seen a 32.7% average annual growth rate in terms of farmland, 25.2% more farmers, 28.7% more jobs and 28.8% in increased foreign currency earned through export sales. Mexico is one of the world’s leading exporters of agricultural organic products. Approximately 90% of Mexico’s organic production is exported. The Mexican products with the most international demand are coffee, avocado and cocoa, but the country also produces organic agave syrup and honey, vanilla, sesame seeds and hibiscus plants.
New Developments Biotechnology has transformed the way ag-
riculture is practiced around the world and Mexican researchers are in the forefront of this change. New crops resistant to insects and other parasites, are continually being discovered, as well as new plants that can better use soil nutrients. Today, Mexico is one of the most important nations in the world using genetic improvement and hybridization and it has become one of the most advanced nations in Latin America in matters of biotechnology. Some of the products that have been developed in Mexico are cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) that resists moths, tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) with delayed ripeness and potato (Solanum tuberous) that resists the potato bug and virus. Other discoveries have also influenced the way crops like soy and rice are grown, and new efforts are undergoing that will affect other high value crops like avocado. n
22 Negocios
infographic oldemar
Mexico Nurturing the World Production rates of main Mexican exported crops in 2010
Cultivated Surface (hectares)
Production (tons)
13,239
134,322 74,659
Asparagus
1’107,135
Avocado
303,618
Blueberry, strawberry, raspberry and blackberry
16,518
1’332,263
Coffee cherry
The ripened fruits of the coffee shrubs
4,913
477,366 Cucumber
22,576
27,683
47,429 Garlic
2’103,361
Banana
781,015
16,391 Berries
78,130
305,227 Guava
307,146 Grapes
Main agricultural exports Million USD, from January to July 2011
296.5
1,430.9
528.7
405.0
Tomato
Avocado
Coffee (raw grain)
ocado Av
US
Exports by product and country Million USD, from January to July 2011
216.4
Melon, watermelon and papaya
Garlic and onion
Lemon
Berries
US
98.36
Japan
70.60
Canada
21.50
Canada
40.27
Japan
8.79
The Netherlands
2.62
Costa Rica
469.67
9.92
Honduras
1.89
US
Spain
1.08
Hong Kong
0.96
Canada
237.30 3.52
France
1.02
Guatemala
0.64
Japan
0.35
Germany
0.25
The Netherlands
0.42
Brazil
0.34
Switzerland
0.20
Cover feature Mexican agroindustry
18,520
153,425 400,933
Grapefruit
183,108 1’891,403
Lemon
339,389
45,126
1’632,649
Mango
16,227
1’266,164
4’051,631
Onion
Orange
31,871
616,215 Papaya
54,510
47,338
701,740
2’277,791
Pineapple
1’036,794 Watermelon
Tomato
160.6
152.9
142.9
140.4
114.5
42.1
Cucumber
Citrus fruits
Mango
Grapes
Strawberry (fresh)
Banana
US
98.36
Canada
21.50
Japan
8.79
The Netherlands
2.62
apefruit Gr
a Ban na
Melon
Mango
15.89
US
1.00
US
4.32
France
0.36
Spain
1.08
US
France
1.02
Japan
11.13
Spain
0.21
Russia
0.24
Germany
0.25
Hong Kong
0.60
Japan
0.13
UK
0.10
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food - Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP).