Berries are now Mexico’s Number one Agri-food Export Product

According to the Mexican National Association of Berry Exporters (Aneberries), the total value of Mexican berry exports has increased exponentially from USD 516 million in 2011 to USD 2.4 billion in 2020. Furthermore, for Q1-2022, Mexico has exported USD 1.39 billion of berries, a 22.5% YoY increase compared to Q1 of 2021. The exported value, which includes frozen berries, represents a higher value than the ones from tequila, beer, and even avocados.

Despite several challenges presented this year to Mexican berry producers, the country has been able to increase its export volume to the US and Canadian markets, which are by far the primary markets for Mexican berries, representing about 97% of the total export share. The exported volume of berries to these markets has tripled in recent seasons due to the increasing demand in these markets. Besides that, Mexico’s berry production has also substantially increased its berry productivity to fulfill the US demand by adopting new farming technologies, which is the main reason for today’s export success.

Productivity Increase Through Protected Agriculture Adoption

Labor, water, and fertilizers shortage are the significant challenges that the agroindustry in Mexico is facing today. However, in the berry sector, these challenges haven’t affected production in the country as plenty of producers have moved to protected agriculture, allowing production to become more efficient in the use of soil and water, and labor. Additionally, the adoption of greenhouse cultivation has the advantage of extending the season, bringing the start to September, when the rains in Mexico are very heavy, and allowing it to last until March/April when it is warmer in the central parts of the country.

In general, the adoption of protected agriculture in berries has impacted the production yield in Mexico very positively. Berries are grown in 22 of the 32 states in Mexico, with Michoacán, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Sinaloa, and Baja California being the primary producing areas. In fact, Jalisco has around 10 thousand ha of berry farms and contributes 50% of the total export volume. Furthermore, due to the high level of mechanization adopted, growers have obtained higher yields per hectare. As a result, in the last decade, strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry production have tripled from 257 thousand mt in 2011 to 754 thousand mt in 2020.

Yield Improvement Impacted Export Volumes

The positive results in berry production are more apparent in the strawberry and raspberry shipped volumes, where protected techniques have made it possible to grow crops without agrochemicals practically in an organic way. As a result, raspberry exports have increased dramatically from USD 180 million in 2011 to USD 1.1 billion in 2020. Moreover, Anaberhas projected that in 2022, the total value of raspberry exports would exceed USD 3 billion. So far this season an exported volume of 3.4 thousand mt was recorded for raspberries in week 9, a 27% increase compared to the previous season.

As for strawberries, exports this season have reached nearly 50 million boxes, representing around 13 thousand mt, a 28% increase compared to the previous season. As of week 19, strawberry shipments continue to cross the border with production from Baja California in high pick while the season in central Mexico is over, attesting to a more extended season that used to finish by May.

This season, blackberries have recorded 2.5 thousand mt in exported shipments, registering a 38% increase compared to the previous season.