Blackberry producers and packers in the area of Los Reyes are starting an exodus out of Michoacan in search of appropriate operating conditions because of the risks there are on their investment returns. This threatens to end one of the biggest contributing industries in the state, stated Roberto Maldonado Hinojosa, local deputy for the PRI.
He said Michoacan had fewer conditions to be attractive for blackberry packing companies, which have begun to migrate to other parts of the country, such as Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Colima, which has raised a red flag for its economic structure.
He recalled that, together with avocados, the blackberry is one of the crops that contribute the most currencies to the entity. In addition, local production is well-known to have a high demand and to be first in quality worldwide. It's unfortunate that social problems threaten the guild's survival, he said.
According to Maldonado Hinojosa, one company has already migrated from the stated and at least three companies have expressed their intention to withdraw from Michoacan; additionally, prior to its departure for Jalisco, another company had settled in Zamora, where they didn't find the minimum conditions for their operation.
The main threats for the blackberry industry in Los Reyes are social mobilization and insecurity, said deputy; two days of demonstrations and roadblocks against the increase in gasoline prices generated 10 billion dollars in losses, and the area has ceased to attract significant investment due to public insecurity.
"Companies don't find the conditions to invest in Michoacan; we had to house the representatives of an American company that were visiting the state for the first time in Uruapan, to avoid the risk of them running into a blockage or mobilization. Unfortunately, when they were going to Los Reyes they were assaulted and the criminals stole everything from them, including their documents. They were people that were planning to invest more than 400 million pesos in Michoacan, but after this they never came back," said the local deputy.
He reiterated that Michoacan's growth opportunities for the blackberry industry were decreasing because the authorities love to show off the berries but don't work hard to ensure that they continue, so the sector's sustainability hangs by a thread, benefitting Colima, Jalisco, and Guanajuato, which have attracted the investments that decided not to settle in Los Reyes, or the companies that have chosen to migrate.
In the region of Los Reyes, the blackberry industry has crops worth 20,000 million pesos, distributed in 10,000 hectares of production, as well as 35 packing companies, at least 30 of which have invested more than to 20 million pesos.
The sector generates 180,000 direct jobs and 8,000 producers, as well as domestic and foreign capital, from the United States, Chile, and Argentina.