Representatives from the Mexican government visited production areas in Jalisco to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Patricia last weekend.
There had inititally been fears that the most powerful hurricane ever seen in the Western Hemisphere would cause widespread damage to coastal areas of Jalisco and Colima where it was due to hit land with winds of 165 mph, but the category-5 hurricane was soon downgraded to a category-1 tropical storm after reaching the coast.
The storm brought down trees, damaged buildings and caused flooding in several regions. Initial assessments suggest that more than 8,000ha of agricultural land in Jalisco has been affected and at least 3,500 houses damaged. Assessments are still being carried out in other states.
The municipalities of Cihuatlán and Tomatlán in the south of Jalisco bore the brunt of the storm, and Sagarpa is in the process of visiting farms to establish the extent of the damage. Bananas, papayas and mangoes are the main crops cultivated in the area.
There is not thought to be any serious damage to infrastructure at the port of Lazaro Cárdenas in Manzanillo.
