Mexico is one of the 3 largest global producers of chilli with 29 varieties and an annual production of 3.18 million tons.
The Government of Mexico held the 'Chili, our wealth' forum to recognize the importance of chilli in the country's cultural and gastronomic identity. The event highlighted that the country's annual consumption amounted to 18 kilos per capita, and celebrated the work of the more than 50,000 national producers that have achieved increasing production in the last 10 years by 64.2%, from 1.94 million to 3.18 million tons per year, without increasing the cultivation area.
The non-governmental representative of the Chilli National Product System, Virgilio Morales Lara, said that this product, which has broad market potential internationally, accounts for more than 20% of the national production of vegetables and is currently exported to 42 countries.
He also stressed that the increase in production has been the result of the high level of modernization that this crop has reached in recent years, going from being an open field product to a greenhouse product, which has allowed the sector to increase its production volume and profitability.
Chilli is much more than just a spicy crop. It is a mosaic of flavors, colors, and textures that gives great value to this crop. Mexico devotes 150,000 hectares to this crop and more than 50,000 production units that generate about 15 million wages each year.
