Mexico’s agricultural exports grew 22.3% in March, year-over-year, to 2,130.2 million dollars, the Inegi reported.
Along with Canada, Mexico is one of the United States’ largest agricultural trading partners. In recent years, the main agricultural products exported were avocados, tomatoes, peppers, walnuts and cucumbers.
According to preliminary figures, approximately 12% of Mexico’s economically active population is employed in the agricultural sector.
In the first quarter of 2020, the value of total exports totaled $ 108.686 million, which meant an annual increase of 0.6 percent. This rate was derived from the combination of a 2.3% growth in non-oil exports and a 23.5% drop in oil exports.
Agricultural exports
The most important increases in agricultural exports in March 2020 were recorded in exports of avocado (56.2%), tomato (34.7%), fruit and edible fruits (24.3%), pepper (19.6%) and legumes and fresh vegetables (10.7%).
In contrast, the most significant annual decreases were in exports of bananas or plantains (-15%) and of fresh strawberries (-3.6%). As for extractive exports, these were located at 706 million dollars with an annual rate of 19.3 percent.
Sectoral changes
Since 1992, when Mexico changed its ejido community ownership system with restrictions on land transfers, Mexico has continued to modernize the land ownership system.
These efforts have fostered greater agricultural investment by allowing landowners to: access new sources of capital; transfer land to more efficient producers, subject to certain requirements; and make more efficient use of inputs.
Increases in agricultural sector productivity also create employment opportunities for many agricultural workers outside of major urban areas.
The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for developing policies aimed at: increasing food production; maximize the comparative advantages of the agricultural sector; integrate the activities of the rural production chains with the rest of the economy; and encourage collaboration between producers.
