Mexican agriculture sector seeks more exports to China

MEXICO CITY - Mexico is seeking to increase its agricultural exports to China, where its avocado and berries have found a niche.

Mexican avocado and berries such as cranberries, raspberries and blackberries are selling briskly in China though they are relatively new.

"We started out with one or two containers, and today we have more than 2,000 containers of avocado shipped to China a year," Mario Andrade, vice president for foreign trade at the National Agricultural Council, said. "I expect that in the near future, China will become a leading consumer of Mexican berries."

Figures released by the Mexican Agriculture Ministry in February showed that Mexico's food, beverage and agricultural exports to China expanded by a whopping 54 percent in 2017 to reach $321 million.

Mexico's top export to China last year was beer, which brought in some $110 million, followed by fishmeal ($55 million). Avocado took third place, generating $31.2 million in revenue.

Trade representatives are now seeking to market infant milk formula."China is a great consumer, especially of dairy (products), and there is a large market for infant formulas," Andrade said.