In the first quarter of 2022, berries (such as strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries) became Mexico's top export agribusiness product, generating more income from foreign sales than beer, which has been Mexico's top export agribusiness product for years.
Calculations by Grupo Consultor de Mercados Agrícolas (GCMA, a Mexican agricultural consulting firm), based on information from the Bank of Mexico, show that in the first three months of 2022 Mexico exported US$1.395 billion of berries, an increase of 22.5 percent over the first quarter of 2021. During the same period, beer exports increased by 16.8 percent from UDS 1.185 billion to USD 1.384 billion, not enough to maintain its position as the top agribusiness export product.
As the numbers show, the above is not the result of poor performance of the brewing industry or reduced demand for beer, but of an extraordinary quarter for berries, driven mainly by price increases caused by the post-pandemic recovery and the war in Ukraine.
According to information provided by Aneberries, the National Association of Berry Exporters of Mexico, about 350 exporting companies export about 500,000 tons of berries to 38 countries around the world.
MEXICO, NOT JUST BERRIES AND BEER
Data from the Bank of Mexico show that in the first quarter of 2022, berries and beer were not the only Mexican agri-food products to register significant export growth: avocado exports, ranked third on the list, generated $1.128 billion (up 31 percent from the first quarter of 2021); tequila exports, ranked fourth, generated $953 million (up 53 percent from the first quarter of 2021); and beef exports, ranked fifth, generated $820 million (up 29.4 percent). Tomato exports, on the other hand, fell 10 percent to $688 million.
In the first three months of 2022, the total value of all agri-food exports from Mexico was $12.6 billion, an increase of 15.7 percent compared to the first quarter of 2021. At the same time, Mexico's agribusiness imports totaled $9.4 billion, an increase of 20.5 percent.
Source: Agroberichtbuitenland
