Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
PhOTOS archive
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 Mexicos 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.
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, Mexicos agro-food exports had a total value of over 16.9 billion usd. The country is the worlds leading exporter of avocado, papaya, mango, processed peppers and organic coffee, and its the second largest exporter of fresh tomato, watermelon, beer, lemon, chewing gum and orange pulp. The US is Mexicos largest agricultural market. Nearly 80% of Mexicos 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. Mexicos 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 Mexicos 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 Prcticas Agrcolas), 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 countrys meat exports surpassed 670 million usd during 2010, being Japan, the US and Korea its main markets.
anCient Wisdom
Mexico is one of the worlds 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 worlds leading exporters of agricultural organic products. Approximately 90% of Mexicos 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
Production (tons)
13,239
Asparagus
134,322 74,659
Avocado
78,130 1107,135
Banana
2103,361
16,391
Berries
781,015 303,618
Coffee cherry
16,518 477,366
Cucumber
1332,263
4,913 47,429
Garlic Guava
22,576 305,227
Grapes
27,683 307,146
1,430.9
Tomato
528.7
Avocado
405.0
Coffee (raw grain)
296.5
216.4
Garlic and onion
ocado Av
Berries
Lemon
US
469.67 70.60 40.27 9.92 1.89 0.96 0.64 0.42 US Canada Japan Brazil 237.30 3.52 0.35 0.34
Japan Canada Costa Rica Honduras Hong Kong Guatemala The Netherlands
18,520
Grapefruit
153,425 400,933
Lemon
183,108 1891,403
Mango
1632,649
45,126 1266,164
Onion Orange
339,389 4051,631
Papaya
16,227 616,215
31,871 701,740
Pineapple Tomato
54,510 2277,791
47,338 1036,794
Watermelon
160.6
Cucumber
152.9
Citrus fruits
142.9
Mango
140.4
Grapes
114.5
Strawberry (fresh)
42.1
Banana
Mango
Melon
a Ban na
apefruit Gr
98.36 21.50 8.79 2.62 1.08 1.02 0.25 US Japan Hong Kong 15.89 11.13 0.60 US Spain Japan 4.32 0.21 0.13 US France Russia UK 1.00 0.36 0.24 0.10
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food - Servicio de Informacin Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (SIAP).