Floriculture in Mexico: will the sleeping (export) giant wake up?

With a total of 18.000 hectares of ornamental produce and its enormous domestic market, Mexico is the 4th floricultural producer in the world. Only some 20% of the production is exported, predominantly to North America. It is likely that this percentage will increase in the near future, creating opportunities for suppliers of knowledge and technical equipment. And will foreign investors find their way to Mexico to set up (export oriented) flower farms?

The first Jungle Talks webinar about Mexico dealt about the still juvenile sector of greenhouse vegetables. A sector that increased rapidly in the past 15 years and one that is very much export oriented. A sector driven by capital and market developments.

From left to right: Claudia Lee de Vink – GM Akiko, Tammo Hoeksema – CEO Xochipilli, Ed Smit – GM Jungle Talks and Ideavelop, Jean Rummenie – Agricultural Counselor Dutch Embassy and Frank Hoogendoorn – Agricultural Assistant Dutch Embassy

Floriculture in Mexico on the other hand is much more traditional. Family businesses (often rather small) dominate the market and production can be found all over the country, although most production is located in the state of Mexico. However, some companies started, like their colleagues in vegetable production, to focus on export.

Major opportunities can be found in climate control (heating, shading), irrigation and solar energy. Knowledge is needed as well. Especially when it concerns the improvement of organizational issues and marketing. Agro logistics and sales need to be improved and need to become more efficient. Especially now that new crops are gaining importance such as Anthurium and Phalaenopsis.

The agricultural department of the Dutch Embassy in Mexico has detected these opportunities. A new subsidy program, Partners in International Business (or PIB) is likely to be implemented to stimulate trade between Mexico and the Netherlands. This program will focus on imports of Dutch equipment and technology (1), logistics and marketing (2), and aims at exports to the European market (3) and identifying possible investors (4).

Jungle Talks are organized frequently and are always free of charge. If you would like to receive regular updates, you can register here for the Jungle Talk newsletter. For any additional questions, please contact Ed Smit, ideas@ideavelop.biz.