Mexico could start exporting plantains to China by the end of August this year, said the head of the National Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Senasica), Enrique Sanchez Cruz.
"We hope that we are ready to start exporting plantains before the end of August," stated Sanchez Cruz.
Sanchez Cruz said he hoped the export protocol for the export of plantains to China, which will give producers the opportunity to join other markets in more competitive conditions, will be signed before the end of August.
In 2016, Mexico exported 464 thousand tons of plantains for an estimated value of 195.5 million dollars, according to data from that agency.
According to estimates, Mexico produces 2,835,000 tons of plantain a year. Chiapas is the main producer with 716 thousand tons, followed by Tabasco, with 610 thousand tons, and Veracruz, with 325 thousand tons.
According to data from the 2007 Food Atlas prepared by the Agricultural Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), the main buyer of plantains is the United States, with 70.1 percent, followed by the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Japan, which together add up to a little more than 20.1 percent.
Sanchez Cruz said that Chinese health technicians had visited some of the country's production areas, and said that "the inspectors had a very good impression of the production areas."
In turn, the president of the National Council of Plantain Producers, Adrian Prats Leal, said: "We are taking firm steps in the consolidation of our exports and there is a good business opportunity in China because they offer good prices."
In recent months, Prats stated in an interview that this alternative would open a wide range of opportunities for producers, especially for the area of the Pacific Central, which can export its fruit through the port of Manzanillo, one of the most important ports in the area.
Source: Notimex