According to Carlos Narvaez Avila, the president of the Chili Product System Committee, more than forty thousand tons of various varieties of chili have been harvested at the Aguascalientes field this year. This production was valued at 70 million pesos, and 60% of it is being dehydrated so that it can be sold dry.
In this cultivation cycle, 250 producers planted one thousand hectares between May and September 2017, which amounts to 150 thousand daily wages, allowing producers to obtain the fresh production of jalapeños, ancho, serrano, poblano and anaheim chillies, which are better known as güero chillies.
Practically all the production will be commercialized throughout Mexico, as there is only one exporting company that sends cheese-chilled chili to the United States.
Narvaez Avila said that the process of drying the chilies had already begun and that the process would last until the end of November. At the moment the Chili Product System Committee has three dehydration chambers, all of which are operating at one hundred percent of their capacity; the drying of the chili takes one to two days.
In an interview with El Heraldo, the president of the Product System Committee said that the jalapeño was the fresh chili that Aguascalientes produced the most.
He also stated that there had been an average yield of forty tons per hectare and that 40% of the 40,000 tons harvested this year were destined for fresh produce while the remaining 60% would be dehydrated, thus prolonging their durability over time.
Additionally, he stated that a large amount of this production would be marketed in the Supply Center of Mexico City.
Narvaez also said that the 2017 production had been slightly higher than that of the 2016 cycle, even though it wasn't as big as they expected because of a drought and some rains. Fortunately, 80% of the area under cultivation was subject to the irrigation system.
The municipalities that produce the different varieties of chili are located in Rincon de Romos, Cosio, Tepezala, San Francisco de los Romo, Asientos, and Jesus Maria, he added.
Source: heraldo.mx