Mexico exported 131.391 tons of papaya worth $87 million dollars in 2014 and is ranked as the leading exporter of this fruit.
According to data from the Ministry of Economy, at annual rates, volume increased by 14% while sales climbed 30.4% and hit a record in value.
"Papaya consumption in the United States improves each year. It has increased both from the Latino population and the white population," said Laura Espinosa, commercial manager of Colima, a producing and exporting company located in Colima, Mexico.
United States is the largest importer of papaya in the world. Last year, its purchases of papaya marked a record high as they reached $118 million dollars.
Mexico provides nearly 8 out of every 10 papayas the US market imports and has accomplished this domain because of various factors, such as its proximity to the US, its fruits’ taste and appearance, which is usually yellow on the outside, unlike the papaya from other supplier countries, which are green when ripe.
In 2014 papaya exports were led by Mexico, followed by Brazil ($47.1 million dollars), the US ($23.2 million), Honduras ($19.7 million) and Guatemala ($10.4 million).
The US market is dominated almost entirely by the Maradol Mexican papaya variety. The second most important variety in the US market is the Hawaiian papaya, which is more expensive than the Maradol variety as the Mexican fruit is transported by land and the Hawaiian fruit needs to be transported by boat or by air.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, there a trend in the United States in which consumers are getting informed and consuming fruits that bring greater benefits to the body, leaving behind traditional fruits, like apples and oranges. This opens the door to greater demand for papaya.
Source: eleconomista.com.mx