GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Mexico’s National Association of Berry Exporters, or Aneberries, began as an initiative to represent the country’s entire berry supply, to provide technical training to smaller growers and to secure Mexico’s place in the global berry export value chain.
Today, the trade fair and conference has grown to become much more, says Aneberries President Miguel Ángel Curiel, who is also vice president and general manager at Driscoll’s México.
Held July 23-24, this week marks the 15th anniversary of the Aneberries trade fair, an event that drew a record 3,000 attendees and exhibitors to Mexico’s Expo Guadalajara.
“The congress we have today has evolved as an area where, if you want to know the current state of the Mexican berry industry, you come to this show, because that’s what you’re going to hear — what is happening,” Curiel told The Packer. “And as people come out of this event [they’re] able to answer the questions they had about the business, they know where the industry is trending, they know what is hurting one of the each crops that we have here in Mexico — each of the four berries — and what are the opportunities and within that be able to connect with many players that are in the show today.”
Curiel says the Mexican berry industry has grown significantly in the last 30 years and now produces about 500 million kilos of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries a year. And with this growth, the Aneberries event has attracted an increasingly international audience of importers and exporters.
“We’re here for several reasons, not the least of which is our general interest in building the Mexico domestic market,” said Kevin Hamilton, vice president of global marketing communications for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC). “USHBC operates in 10 different countries related to trying to grow demand and find a destination home for all of this increased production that’s coming.
“Certainly Mexico, with the market that’s here — it’s a growing middle-class market,” Hamilton continued. “It’s a growing economy, growing general household wealth. We have a high interest in growing this market for not only the domestic producers, but also for U.S. exporters as well.”
Hamilton says that given the growth in an increasingly global berry supply, the need to drive demand in new markets is key.
“Production is growing — not only in the U.S., not only in Mexico, but certainly Peru and many other destinations as well. We can expect that volume is going to continue to increase on the supply side,” he said. “So, what we need to do is shift the demand curve and find homes in terms of demand for this product, so that profitability can be maintained across the board, especially for our U.S. growers that live in a regime in which our costs are just generally higher.
“As a result, we need to do everything we can from a marketing perspective and as an industry to grow demand, not only in the U.S., but in other large markets like Mexico, and do it in a way that’s profitable for the industry to maintain long-term viability,” he added.
California strawberry producers also see opportunities for growth with Mexico.
“Aneberries is the most important berry conference in Mexico, and it was our great honor as a strawberry commission to be invited for the first time this year to participate in the conference,” says Chris Christian, vice president market insights with the California Strawberry Commission. “It is important because our industries are very much interconnected for strawberries, between California and Mexico.”
California strawberry exports to Mexico have experienced accelerated growth in recent years.
“We’ve seen significant increase in our exports from California to Mexico,” Christian says. “Since 2022 the market size has nearly doubled, meaning the amount of our exports have nearly doubled over that time period and are over $100 million in value today. And so, Mexico is an important market for us. It is our second-largest export market behind Canada.”
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