The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) stated that in the last four years, the production of Made in Mexico papaya increased by 30 percent, due to an increased productivity in the country's primary sector and to the public policies implemented by this administration.
According to a statement, based on statistics from the Agricultural Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), production between 2013 and 2016 increased by 222,900 tons, as it went from 734,500 thousand tons in 2013 to 957,400 tons in 2016.
Between 2015 and 2016, papaya production increased by 8.9 percent. Last year's production amounted to 957,400 tons, i.e. 100,000 tons more than the production average of the last four years.
The papaya 'Made in Mexico' is produced in 19 states. The five main producing states are Oaxaca, Colima, Chiapas, Veracruz and Michoacan, which contribute 81.1 percent of the total national volume, i.e. 776.6 thousand tons.
Oaxaca contributes 32.7 percent of the national production; Colima, 16.5 percent; Chiapas, 13.6 percent; Veracruz, 10.9 percent, and Michoacan, 7.3 percent.
The states that registered the greatest increases in the production of papaya during 2016 were Colima, 45.3 percent; Michoacan, 35.7 percent; Nayarit, 16.3 percent; Quintana Roo, 16.1 percent, and Tabasco, 14.1 percent.
At the international level, Mexico, which produces papaya throughout the whole year, is the fifth biggest producer of papayas worldwide.
Regarding the exports of this fruit, SAGARPA stated that, based on statistics from the Commercial Information System Via Internet (SIAVI), that sales abroad in 2016, which amounted to US 92.8 million, had increased by 6.8 million dollars.
The five main buyers of Mexican papaya are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.
From 2013 to 2016, exports of this product grew by 38.9 percent, as they went from 66.8 million dollars to $92.8 million dollars, i.e. exports increased by more than $26 million dollars in this period.
In January, Mexican papaya exports increased by 44.8 percent, from 4.9 million dollars in the first month of 2016 to 7.1 million dollars in the same period of this year.
