In 2024, Mexico positioned itself as an important exporter of chilies, broccoli, cauliflower, lemon, and cucumber, thanks to the increase in demand and the continuous effort of the actors involved in these production chains, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader), as reported by Municipios Puebla.
These achievements are also due to a network of 14 free trade agreements with 51 countries, which have contributed to placing Mexico as the ninth largest food exporter globally, in a potential market of 1.4 billion consumers.
The growth in exports is also attributed to the hard work of producers and the health prestige of Mexican foods, supported by institutions such as the National Service for Health, Safety and Agri-Food Quality (Senasica).
According to the Agri-Food Panorama, published by the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), the volume of green chili exports in 2023 reached the second highest figure of the last decade and led in value. It reported that 1.18 million tons were exported, an increase of 5.8 percent over the previous year, and the value reached $1.231 billion, an increase of 9.5 percent.
Mexico ranked third in the world in green chile production, with an 8.4 percent share of the global harvest.
Broccoli also reached an all-time high in both volume and value. Between 2018 and 2023, sales went from 382,514 tons to 472,763 tons, and the value increased from $440 million to $677 million, representing increases of 23.6 and 54 percent, respectively. Mexico rose to fourth place in the world in broccoli production.
As for cauliflower, Mexico remained in second place worldwide in exports, with 62,288 tons and a value of $88.9 million in 2023. It also ranked fourth in the planted area.
Lemon exports showed a positive trend with an increase of 19,137 tons and $80 million in value. The total volume reached 717,163 tons and the value reached $838 million, marking an increase of 2.7 percent in volume and 10.6 percent in value compared to the previous year. Mexico consolidated itself as the main lemon producer in North America and the second worldwide.
Finally, cucumber exports reached a record in 2023, with 884,107 tons and an income of more than $545 million. In addition to being one of the products with the highest foreign exchange earnings, national cucumber production ranked fifth in America.
