In light of the renegotiation of the Free Trade Agreement, Mexico may be at a disadvantage if the United States imposes tariff barriers on Mexican strawberries and not on other countries' strawberries, said Diego Antonio Martinez Rodriguez, the president of the National Association of Exporters and Producers of Berries (Aneberries).
Peru, for example, has a growing blueberry production and also exports strawberries to the United States. Thus, if the rules of the game were different, Mexico could be at a disadvantage in terms of exports, he said.
The president of Aneberries said that there currently were no tariffs for strawberries, and that Mexico exported most of its production to the United States.
"The association has worked a lot on the NAFTA because Mexico's strawberry production relies heavily on the United States, it's main trading partner," he said.
He said that Mexico had a window of opportunity to export its strawberries to the North American market when the US had no more production due to the discrepancy in harvest periods. The imposition of tariff barriers would ultimately harm American consumers, as they would be charged any additional cost exporters have.
Martinez Rodriguez said that the production of strawberries had been growing exponentially, by double-digits, in the past five years, as it is a segment that has not been so affected by the commercial problems caused by Donald Trump.
"Some of the policies do affect us but, since the demand continues to grow, new markets are already opening up, which benefits us," he said.
The president of Aneberries said they were worried about the effect that the commercial renegotiation would have on the agreements they already have; "We are confident that Mexico will continue to supply the United States, as the US isn't capable of capturing so much fruit from other countries."
Mexico ranks fifth worldwide in strawberry production, and blueberry and raspberry production are growing significantly. "According to data from the Ministry of Economy, in 2016, Mexico exported almost 128,000 tons of fresh strawberries to the United States, valued at 1.5 billion dollars, so it is unlikely that they will cover that supply from another source," he said.
He emphasized that berry exports were the third biggest generator of foreign exchange for the agricultural sector, after tomato and avocado; "We are very close to these exports."
Mexico already exports to 33 countries but the US is still the biggest per capita consumer of strawberries. However, we need to accelerate our trade plans to other continents," he added. Martinez said they had worked hand in hand with the health authorities to help expedite the procedures that other countries require to export.
The manager of the National Strawberry Product System Committee, Francisco Mendez Sanchez, said that Mexicans had started cultivating this fruit to supply US demand, long before the NAFTA.
"There are US factories established in Mexico to ensure the volume of strawberry and berries for that country," he added.
"We have US companies here, and they will hardly leave Mexico. They are mainly exporters, like Driscoll's, which is the largest producer of strawberries and berries in the world," he said.
Regarding market diversification, he said that they have been interested in the Russian market since last year, but that transporting the fruit to this market has been a problem.
"We send fresh strawberry to 33 countries but in small quantities; 99 percent of it goes to the US, the rest to Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Canada and Belize; in 2016 exports totaled 155 thousand tons worth 485 million dollars. Meanwhile, imports amounted to 15.7 tons, worth 36 million dollars.
98 thousand tons of frozen strawberries worth 165.5 million dollars were exported, and 1,950 tons worth 5 million dollars were imported; most of these were bought from the US, Poland, Puerto Rico, and China.
A few days ago, the government of Jalisco and the authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture assisted with the first shipment of Jalisco blueberry (630 kilograms) to China, which has already become Mexico's second business partner.
The president of the Mexican Association of Agricultural Development Secretaries (AMSDA), Hector Padilla Gutierrez, said that the state governments had to work hard to open commercial opportunities in the international context, because the new market niches benefited producers and generated jobs in rural areas.
He emphasized that the production of berries in Jalisco generates more than 44 thousand jobs. In 2012, there were 500 hectares devoted to this crop in different regions of the state and by the end of 2016 there were 8,648 hectares; a number that continues to grow.
The president of the Amsda said that "In 2016 Jalisco produced 107 thousand tons of berries, and exports that exceeded one billion dollars." He also said that they were already sending raspberries to China, raspberry and strawberry to Dubai and Kuwait, and blackberry and raspberry to Singapore.
Source: Milenio / Mexicoxport