20 Negocios PhOTOS archive

mexican agroindustrynurturing the world

speCiaL featuremexicanshoeindustry

Agriculture employs approxi-mately 10% of Mexican popula-tion. With its land area, climate diversity and geographic prox-imity to one of the largest mar-

kets 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 agro-food products worldwide, with more than 800 different products in the international markets and the first food supplier for the North Ameri-can 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 imple-mented 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 im-ports from Mexico consist of beer, vegetables and fruit. These imports are closely tied to Mexico’s historical expertise in producing al-coholic 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 qual-ity 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 Ko-rea its main markets.

anCient WisdomMexico 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 farm-ers, 28.7% more jobs and 28.8% in increased foreign currency earned through export sales.

Mexico is one of the world’s leading export-ers of agricultural organic products. Approxi-mately 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 deveLopmentsBiotechnology has transformed the way ag-

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.

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 discov-ered, 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 improve-ment and hybridization and it has become one of the most advanced nations in Latin Amer-ica 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 ef-forts are undergoing that will affect other high value crops like avocado. n

Cover featuremexicanagroindustry

22 Negocios inFOGRaPhic oldemar

18,520

400,933

45,126

1’266,164

16,227

616,215

47,338

1’036,7942’277,791

31,871 54,510

701,740

339,389

4’051,631

153,425 183,108

1’632,6491’891,403

13,239

74,659

16,391

303,618

16,518

477,366

27,683

307,146

22,576

305,227

4,913

47,429

781,015

1’332,263

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food - Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP).

Mexico Nurturing the WorldProduction rates of main Mexican exported crops in 2010

Pineapple

Cucumber

Guava Grapes

Avocado

134,322

Banana

Coffee cherryThe ripened fruitsof the coffee shrubs

BerriesBlueberry, strawberry,raspberry and blackberry

Garlic

2’103,3611’107,135

78,130

Grapefruit

PapayaOnion

Lemon Mango

Orange

Asparagus

Tomato Watermelon

Cultivated Surface (hectares)

Production(tons)

Main agricultural exports Million USD, from January to July 2011

1,430.9Tomato

528.7Avocado

405.0Coffee (raw grain)

296.5Melon, watermelonand papaya

216.4Garlicand onion

160.6Cucumber

152.9Citrus fruits

142.9Mango

140.4Grapes

114.5Strawberry (fresh)

42.1Banana

Exportsby productand countryMillion USD,from Januaryto July 2011

Avocado

US 469.67

Japan 70.60

Canada 40.27

Costa Rica 9.92

Honduras 1.89

Hong Kong 0.96

Guatemala 0.64

The Netherlands 0.42

Berries

US 237.30

Canada 3.52

Japan 0.35

Brazil 0.34

US 98.36

Canada 21.50

Japan 8.79

The Netherlands 2.62

Spain 1.08

France 1.02

Germany 0.25

Switzerland 0.20

Lemon Mango

US 98.36

Canada 21.50

Japan 8.79

The Netherlands 2.62

Spain 1.08

France 1.02

Germany 0.25

Melon

US 15.89

Japan 11.13

Hong Kong 0.60

Banana

US 4.32

Spain 0.21

Japan 0.13

Grapefruit

US 1.00

France 0.36

Russia 0.24

UK 0.10

Cover featuremexicanagroindustry

18,520

400,933

45,126

1’266,164

16,227

616,215

47,338

1’036,7942’277,791

31,871 54,510

701,740

339,389

4’051,631

153,425 183,108

1’632,6491’891,403

13,239

74,659

16,391

303,618

16,518

477,366

27,683

307,146

22,576

305,227

4,913

47,429

781,015

1’332,263

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food - Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP).

Mexico Nurturing the WorldProduction rates of main Mexican exported crops in 2010

Pineapple

Cucumber

Guava Grapes

Avocado

134,322

Banana

Coffee cherryThe ripened fruitsof the coffee shrubs

BerriesBlueberry, strawberry,raspberry and blackberry

Garlic

2’103,3611’107,135

78,130

Grapefruit

PapayaOnion

Lemon Mango

Orange

Asparagus

Tomato Watermelon

Cultivated Surface (hectares)

Production(tons)

Main agricultural exports Million USD, from January to July 2011

1,430.9Tomato

528.7Avocado

405.0Coffee (raw grain)

296.5Melon, watermelonand papaya

216.4Garlicand onion

160.6Cucumber

152.9Citrus fruits

142.9Mango

140.4Grapes

114.5Strawberry (fresh)

42.1Banana

Exportsby productand countryMillion USD,from Januaryto July 2011

Avocado

US 469.67

Japan 70.60

Canada 40.27

Costa Rica 9.92

Honduras 1.89

Hong Kong 0.96

Guatemala 0.64

The Netherlands 0.42

Berries

US 237.30

Canada 3.52

Japan 0.35

Brazil 0.34

US 98.36

Canada 21.50

Japan 8.79

The Netherlands 2.62

Spain 1.08

France 1.02

Germany 0.25

Switzerland 0.20

Lemon Mango

US 98.36

Canada 21.50

Japan 8.79

The Netherlands 2.62

Spain 1.08

France 1.02

Germany 0.25

Melon

US 15.89

Japan 11.13

Hong Kong 0.60

Banana

US 4.32

Spain 0.21

Japan 0.13

Grapefruit

US 1.00

France 0.36

Russia 0.24

UK 0.10