Agriculture
From The Report: Mexico 2018
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Mexico has posted strong agricultural export growth since 2013, turning around a deficit in the country’s trade balance of agriculture products that reached nearly $4bn in 2012. Growth in recent years has been driven by high-value berry and avocado exports, as well as the expansion of large-scale agro-industrial complexes in the central part of the country. Experts note that many advantageous conditions have been external, meaning that little to no control can be exercised over them in upcoming years. Such factors included the good exchange rate against the US dollar, and bumper crops of berries and avocados due to favourable weather. Other circumstantial advantages in recent years have even included a drought in the California growing region of the US, which directly competes with Mexico. The extent to which the Mexican agriculture industry can react with force and flexibility if one or more of these positive factors if removed in the future will demonstrate the sector’s true growth and resilience. This chapter contains an interview with Adrián Iturbide Mejía, Former President, Mexican Association of Avocado Producers and Exporters.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Fruitful prospects: Double-digit export growth supports industry plans to tap into new markets
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Mexico has posted strong agricultural export growth since 2013, turning around a deficit in the country’s trade balance of agriculture products that reached nearly $4bn in 2012. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación, SAGARPA), Mexico achieved a sector trade surplus of $5.4bn in 2017. SAGARPA has attributed this performance to the hard work of producers and…

Interview

Avocado aficionados: Adrián Iturbide Mejía, Former President, Mexican Association of Avocado Producers and Exporters, on consolidating production and trade links
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Interview:Adrián Iturbide Mejía What is Mexico’s position in the global market? ADRIÁN ITURBIDE MEJÍA: Mexico is responsible for 50% of global avocado trade, but only 35-40% of global production. The value of avocados rose by 50-60% during 2017, while production has actually fallen by 10% due to climatic conditions. Mexico has a dominant market position, and in some countries – such as Japan and Canada – it has a market share of more than 90%. Producers are expecting to have an…

Analysis

Sowing the seeds: A new roadmap will guide the sector in diversifying trade partners and implementing sustainable practices
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After decades of lacking a robust, strategic sector roadmap, Mexico launched the 2017-30 National Agricultural Plan that addresses everything from targeted crop varieties to trade partners and investment. One of the principal reasons that led the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación, SAGARPA) to develop the strategy was concerns over the re-negotiation of the North American…