"It is necessary to promote the consumption of Mexican blackberries abroad to prevent prices from falling whenever there is oversupply," pointed out the technician of Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación con la Agricultura (Trust Funds to Agriculture - FIRA), Francisco Sandoval Díaz.
He said that many efforts are made to improve quality and health and safety, but nothing is done to improve marketing strategies and consumption abroad, because everyone has their own contracts and interests.
For example, the Association of Producers, Packers and Exporters of Michoacan Avocado (APEEAM) invests money in marketing campaigns in the United States. They even hired famous chefs for TV programs in the country, because they know that an investment in marketing entails a rise in consumption.
Regarding the blackberry oversupply, which caused prices to fall in recent years, nothing has been done to tackle the problem; for instance, investing on promotion to increase consumption abroad.
From his point of view, it could get to a point when blackberries are only profitable for marketers, meaning that companies in the future would make no profit, or even lose money, from the production process, but make a profit marketing it. In other words, "I lose a dollar producing it, but make three when selling it," and this makes production unsustainable, especially for small producers.
He admitted that marketers have made an effort to diversify their markets, but that a commercialisation strategy in the United States, similar to the one other exporters have, is necessary to increase the consumption of Mexican blackberries; a strategy that must unite associations, firms, producers and the government.
Source: Cambiodemichoacan