North America Edition
The pecan nut harvest began in Sonora and, according to expectations, production will amount to just over 15,000 tons worth over 2,000 million pesos, said industry sources.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources, Fisheries and Aquaculture (SAGARHPA), Julio Cesar Corona Valenzuela, said that the quality of the nut produced in the state had improved greatly.
He said this has allowed the state to position the nut in the domestic market as well as in international markets, to the point that the pecan nut from Sonora had great acceptance in eastern countries.
Almost 80 percent of Sonora's pecan nut production is destined for the Chinese market, he said.
The official stressed that one of the advantages of growing this nut was that it had one of the highest yields per cubic meter of water. As a result, he said, the surface of this crop in the state increased from 3,000 hectares in 2006 to nearly 13,000 in 2015.
He also said that this perennial crop had been distributed in various regions of the state territory and that the agricultural zone of Hermosillo had 61 percent of the established surface.
Corona Valenzuela said that, as a result of this growth, it had become the second largest national producer, only behind the neighboring state of Chihuahua.
The value of Sonora's pecan nut production, he said, went from some 650 million pesos in 2010 to over 2,000 million pesos during 2016.
According to Sagarhpa, Sonora has 12,748 hectares with pecan trees in 10 producing areas.
Sonora produces Western, Wichita and Mahan pecan nuts. The harvest is done manually and last year it created 283,000 jobs in the state.
Source: Notimex
