Apple growers from the municipality of Arteaga, in the Southeast region of Coahuila, expect to place over a million boxes of fruit in the domestic market at the end of August.
Jesus Duran Flores, the mayor of the municipality, said the 460 apple growers there were in Arteaga had begun the harvest but that the work had been slowed down by the rains that accompanied the first cold front recorded that started last weekend in the state.
"The rains haven't damaged the fruits and vegetables produced in the region; the rain is good, we always welcome it. The rains delayed the start of the harvest that was scheduled for last weekend. However the harvest started smoothly on Monday as the rain was less intense and allowed producers to start working."
This year, producers expect apple prices will increase by 40 percent over the last year, when the minimum price of a box was 100 pesos.
"There was a good production, we have good apple there and we think that, in some cases, the price per box could reach 300 or 400 pesos, especially outside the state."
Up to May this year, apple producers from Arteaga feared that the atypical hailstorms recorded in April would undermine their production; the first reports after the hailstorm stated that it had damaged the protective mesh and affected 600 to 800 hectares of apple trees.
Source: elfinanciero.com.mx