Mike HornickMario Steta, right, president of Aneberries A.C., chats with Michael Hollister, center, vice president of sales and marketing for Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc. and SENASICA-SAGARPA general director of plant health Javier Trujillo, left, at the second annual Aneberries international congress Oct. 4 in Guadalajara, Mexico. GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Increased consumption and new markets are top priorities for the expanding Mexican blackberry industry, according to growers and shippers.
About 450 people attended the second international congress of Aneberries A.C., or National Association of Berries Exporters, in Guadalajara Oct. 3-5 — up around 50% from last year.
Many said they worry Mexico is near the point of overproduction on blackberries in spring and winter months.
Alfredo Javier Buenrostro of Agricola Valle Paraiso, a blackberry grower, recalled unhappy memories of one price drop — $4 to $1.60 per pound — in Michoacan.
“We could get to the point where planting and harvesting blackberries is not profitable anymore,” he said through a translator.
Managing that crop has been a problem, according to Mario Steta, Aneberries president, also speaking through a translator.
“We haven’t found a way to avoid the peaks,” he said. “We might see another in November.”
“The blackberry supply is very challenged as there are so many different entities involved,” he said.
Michael Hollister, vice president of sales and marketing for Driscoll Strawberry Associates Inc., Watsonville, Calif., said the number of blackberry varieties in Mexico makes it a challenging segment.
“If you plan to grow, do it with an understanding of what consumption will be and the impact of oversupply,” Hollister said. “Aneberries could probably help us organize the supply curve so we could better communicate with one voice.”
Mexico had 19,647 hectares (about 48,550 acres) in the four major berries last year. About 57% was in blackberries and 36% in strawberries. Volume on all berries was 386,000 tons; 64% came from Michoacan.
Overall production rose 147% from 2000 to 2011. Volume could easily double again in the next five or six years, Steta said.
Where will it all go?
Domestic consumption is a target, but so are new markets. Steta recently returned from a Hong Kong trade show, and Mexico-China Chamber president Ricardo Antonio Vaca Uribe said it’s vital to look beyond the U.S. and Canada.
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