Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) held a meeting this week with Chinese entrepreneurs with the aim of encouraging investments in the production, processing and packaging of Mexican vegetables for export to China and North America.
In a statement, Sagarpa said that the goal of the first stage of the project was to expand the cultivation of okra, a high-value vegetable that is widely consumed in markets like China, Japan and South Korea.
Broccoli, carrots, onions, peppers and chillis have also been earmarked for export growth.
The parties involved in the meeting agreed to start work to evaluate projects in the northern state of Tamaulipas, where most of Mexico’s okra production is located. Its cultivation covers an area of around 5,000ha with the potential to produce more than 36,000 tones per year in two – possibly three –harvests.
Sagarpa added that producers, businessmen and the authorities had agreed to implement a work agenda to initiate technical visits to evaluate future investments in production, processing and packing infrastructure.
