Baja California Sur's agricultural sector, which is known for the significant contribution it makes to national agricultural exports, is focusing on expanding its market to Dubai and other Arab regions. The region, which produces more than 800,000 tons of agricultural products a year valued at 10,000 million pesos and generates around 60,000 direct jobs, sees a promising opportunity in the United Arab Emirates, a market that has a high consumption avocado, mango, and asparagus, among other products.
José Alfredo Bermúdez Beltrán, head of SEPADA (the Secretariat of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Agricultural Development), said that Baja California Sur was the country's second biggest exporter of asparagus with more than 7,500 hectares dedicated to this crop. In addition, the region is also an important producer of organic basil, which it grows in Los Cabos and Comondú.
17,500 hectares of the 30,000 hectares destined for agriculture in the state have been converted to higher-value crops generating an estimated production value of 3,700 million pesos. The reconversion crops include asparagus, alfalfa, orange, mango, fig, date, fodder, and others products, totaling an approximate area of 450 hectares.
The initiative to expand exports to Dubai responds to the conviction of farmers in Baja California Sur that reconversion to high-value crops and higher yields per cubic meter of water is the optimal strategy to ensure the viability of their farms and increase the reach of their products in the international market.
Source: elsudcaliforniano.com.mx