China will be a new export market for the plantain produced in Mexico.
Three months ago, the Chinese government made an inspection visit to the most important production areas, which are located in the states of Colima, Chiapas, and Tabasco.
"The Chinese market has an extraordinary demand. We've already been visited by businessmen demanding one thousand containers per year, that means we would need to ship 3 containers a day to meet that demand" said Francisco Hueso Alcaraz, the president of the Union of Plantain Producers.
After this visit, the plantain producers sent a trial shipment to Asia.
"Our first trial shipment was undertaken by a company from Michoacan that sent two containers to China. The shipment took 78 days to get there and we thought the plantains would arrive in a bad condition. However, we were pleasantly surprised because were perfect, like they had just been harvested, that says a lot about the quality of our production," stated Hueso Alcaraz.
Mexico has 78 thousand hectares devoted to producing plantains in 10 states.
"There are about 5 thousand producers of plantains in the country. It is a product with a high economic importance. It is also the third most important product for human consumption," said Marco Antonio Magana Chavez, the manager of the Regional Union of Plantain Producers of the Pacific Center.
Currently, Mexico only exports 25 percent of its production, which amounts to nearly 2,700,000 tons, the remaining 75 percent is for domestic consumption.
To achieve the first shipment of plantains to China, the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), will have to conclude the phytosanitary protocol requested by the Chinese government, which, among other things, ensures that the fruit shipped is pest free.
Based on information from Bertha Reynoso.