Jalisco's avocado sector has taken firm steps to create a productive cluster, so that all the parties involved in the sector follow an approach that is inclusive, sustainable, and that provides shared wealth generation.
Upon inaugurating the IV Avocado Congress at the campus of the University of Guadalajara in this municipality, the general director of Agricultural Development of Seder, Mario Ramon Ramos Velasco, said this cluster had progressed.
Ramos Velasco said that they could now venture into avocado added value products, thanks to the fruit's antioxidants.
"We already have several products within our state in which the transformation of the fruit has been a success, such as cosmetics and oils, for which there is already a demand," he said.
He also noted that the sale of fresh avocado indicates there will be a greater penetration in the domestic market and an increase in exports, especially with the forthcoming opening of the US market in the near term.
He also noted that the avocado sector mainly competed against the producers from across the world and against the Mexican entities that have increased their production in recent years.
In turn, the delegate of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), Javier Guizar Macias, awarded the Cerritos Company with the first Sustainable Avocado Production Award.
This recognition was established by the Association of Producers and Exporters of Avocado from Jalisco (APEAJAL) as a tool to generate awareness regarding the sustainable production of avocado.
The congress will be holding 13 lectures and 65 exhibitor's intervention on agricultural, economic, and sustainable issues of great importance for the sector. Avocado production in Jalisco increased sixfold in the last six years. It went from 20,000 tons in 2009 to nearly 119,647 tons in 2015. Jalisco is the second largest producer in the country after Michoacan. Jalisco exports its avocados to 15 countries, mainly in Asia, Europe, and Canada. 12 municipalities in Jalisco have been certified and will be able to export avocados to the United States. The avocado production chain generates 18,000 million pesos in Mexico's domestic market.
Source: Notimex