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The 'green gold' of Mexico
Mexico
Wednesday 30 January 2008
Avocado production, exports soar to feed growing demand north of the border.
Exports of avocados from the state of Michoacan, the top source of both the fruit and immigrants to Chicago, have risen fivefold since 2004. Mendoza and other Mexican farmers have found that exporting the crop is lucrative enough under the North American Free Trade Agreement that they don't need to go north to earn a living.
Known here as "green gold," the avocado has taken on political importance as President Felipe Calderon faces renewed criticism of NAFTA's role in undermining the livelihoods of farmers. A caravan of tractors is crawling toward Mexico City for an anti-NAFTA rally Thursday.
The once-exotic fruit, meanwhile, has become a mainstream grocery item on the U.S. side of the border. This Sunday will be the biggest day for avocado consumption all year. American sports fans will consume an estimated 25,000 tons of avocado as they watch the Super Bowl with bowls of guacamole at the ready.
Although three-quarters of Mexico's avocados remain for domestic consumption, farmers have gravitated to the high prices in the U.S. wholesale market, now about US$1 per pound, about 50 percent more than they can get in Mexico.
Michoacan exported about 200,000 tons of avocados last year, bringing in about US$500 million. More than 5,200 orchards in Michoacan are certified to export the fruit, up from 61 just a decade ago.
The 2007 market was especially lucrative for Mexico because cold snaps in California and Chile damaged the crops of its main rivals.
The avocado boom comes at a time of discontent after NAFTA forced Mexico to remove its final barriers on corn and other key crops as of Jan. 1. Opposition lawmakers are urging Calderon to renegotiate the treaty, but he and U.S. officials have dismissed that idea. After running a surplus just after NAFTA's implementation in 1994, Mexico has faced agriculture trade deficits with the U.S. that top US$1 billion annually.
Exports of avocados from the state of Michoacan, the top source of both the fruit and immigrants to Chicago, have risen fivefold since 2004. Mendoza and other Mexican farmers have found that exporting the crop is lucrative enough under the North American Free Trade Agreement that they don't need to go north to earn a living.
Known here as "green gold," the avocado has taken on political importance as President Felipe Calderon faces renewed criticism of NAFTA's role in undermining the livelihoods of farmers. A caravan of tractors is crawling toward Mexico City for an anti-NAFTA rally Thursday.
The once-exotic fruit, meanwhile, has become a mainstream grocery item on the U.S. side of the border. This Sunday will be the biggest day for avocado consumption all year. American sports fans will consume an estimated 25,000 tons of avocado as they watch the Super Bowl with bowls of guacamole at the ready.
Although three-quarters of Mexico's avocados remain for domestic consumption, farmers have gravitated to the high prices in the U.S. wholesale market, now about US$1 per pound, about 50 percent more than they can get in Mexico.
Michoacan exported about 200,000 tons of avocados last year, bringing in about US$500 million. More than 5,200 orchards in Michoacan are certified to export the fruit, up from 61 just a decade ago.
The 2007 market was especially lucrative for Mexico because cold snaps in California and Chile damaged the crops of its main rivals.
The avocado boom comes at a time of discontent after NAFTA forced Mexico to remove its final barriers on corn and other key crops as of Jan. 1. Opposition lawmakers are urging Calderon to renegotiate the treaty, but he and U.S. officials have dismissed that idea. After running a surplus just after NAFTA's implementation in 1994, Mexico has faced agriculture trade deficits with the U.S. that top US$1 billion annually.
