Latin American companies are finding new opportunities in the consumer-driven Chinese market. Some berry farmers, which previously exported to the United States, are now turning their focus to China because of its huge population and growing economy.
Jorge Hernandez, a strawberry and raspberry farmer in the western state of Michoacan, Mexico, told Xinhua news agency that previously local farmers would only export their farm produce to the United States but since a fruit trade agreement was signed between Mexico and China in 2014, they have begun turning eastward.
“After doing business with the neighboring United States for decades, we need to find new markets for future development, and China is the most attractive, given it’s huge population and growing economy,” Hernandez said.
Herenandez’s target consumers, the Chinese middle-class, is expected to reach 60 percent of the Chinese population by 2020 from the current level of 54 percent, according to Chinese policy makers.
Mexican berry farmers hope the Chinese market will buy up around 20 percent of their exports in the future, Mario Andrade, president of the Mexico’s National Association of Berry Exporters, told Xinhua.
According to statistics released by the Mexican government, Mexico is the world’s third largest berry exporter and the berry growing industry generates over 120,000 jobs.
Over 90 percent of Mexico’s berries are sold abroad, and bring in almost 1 billion U.S. dollars annually, Andrade said, adding that a success in expanding market in China will generate tens of thousands of new jobs and boost the logistics and shipping sectors.
