Mexico is the largest producer and exporter of avocados in the world, accounting for 31% of the world's production, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is also the largest exporter of other food products, such as mango, chili and tomatoes. However, there is only one supplier authorized to sell processed mango or avocado to be rocketed into space by NASA: the Mexican company Quinasa.
"Their products can be consumed in zero gravity. This solves a problem that the world's biggest space agency had failed to solve: fruit powder gets embedded in the grooves inside the ship, generating malfunctions. The Quinasa company patented a compressed tablet of processed food," said Luis Mauricio Torres, a researcher of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO).
The network of suppliers, the processing patent, and the export distribution network are completely Mexican. Innovation in the value chain of commodities, such as avocado or meat, has allowed Mexican companies of all sizes to penetrate the international markets and be competitive.
"Unfortunately, this is not a widespread phenomenon. Not all the regions of the country have taken advantage of the economic gains of trade liberalization. There aren't many cases of successful companies and the disparity of public policies has hindered the development of some states' export potential," said Torres.
Source: opportimes.com