Watermelon radish is a gourmet product of Chinese origin that is currently being produced in very few parts of the world, as this culture needs special weather conditions and producing it has a high cost. It's consumption, however, has become popular in North America and Europe in recent years.
"We export all of our production as people in Mexico are unfamiliar with this product," said Eugene A. Lopez, CEO of Mexico Market. Japan receives 80% of the production of this company, and the rest is sent to Canada and the United States. "We found new buyers at Fruit Logistica, in Berlin, and we expect export numbers to change so we can replace our sales volume to the USA with sales to Europe," said Lopez. This change in markets is due to the tense situation there is between Mexico and USA right now, said Lopez. Thus, the company is looking to open new markets to avoid mishaps and to be known in more parts of the world.
Currently, there are only a few producers of watermelon radish around the world, in California, Poland, and in China. Poland's weather conditions have not been favorable this year so their production was lower than expected; China, in turn, sends most of its production to Japan at a very affordable price. The Mexico Market believes that, since the production is so small, "there are many potential customers we haven't met. This year, with new contacts, we hope to increase sales by 30%. "
