Producers of table grapes from Sonora, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the national production, estimated they would harvest about 20 million boxes of fruit this season.
The president of Local Association of Table Grape Producers (AALPUM), Marco Antonio Molina Rodriguez, stated in an interview that the fruit harvest was at its final stage and that it would come to an end in the last days of June.
"Our production will amount to 20 million cases (8.2 kg each), and we will export about 16 million of them, i.e. over 75 percent," he said.
According to him, entity vintners estimate exports will amount to nearly $300 million dollars, since the table grapes from Sonora are marketed in more than 20 countries.
Molina Rodriguez said the United States continued to be their main market, but that they also sold their grapes to Canada, England, Thailand, Malaysia, China, and Singapore, among other places.
This year's grape production will be similar to that of 2015, he said, "but it will be a better season because prices have been better," he added.
The productive area of Caborca, which is located northwest of Sonora, recorded a favorable production as its harvest was higher than estimated. Meanwhile, Hermosillo's production was as expected.
Molina Rodriguez also stated that the planted area was practically the same, as producers got rid of some areas and established new vineyards with new systems and technologies, which have increased the region's productivity.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources, Fisheries and Aquaculture (SAGARHPA), Sonora has 17,200 hectares devoted to the production of table grapes that yield 18 tons per hectare.
The varieties grown in Sonora are the Flame Seedless, Perlette, Superior and, to a lesser extent, the Black Seedless and the Red Globe.
Sonora's table grape production generates 4,267 million day wages per year. To supply this need for labor, agricultural workers from various southern states of the country travel to Sonora to work on table grape crops.
Sonora is the largest producer of table grapes and accounts for more than 70 percent of the national production; in addition to this entity, Zacatecas, Baja California, Aguascalientes and Coahuila account for 95 percent of the are devoted to this crop.
Source: Notimex