Mexico in Numbers: Agriculture

Mexico is simply a starring planetary cultivation producer, ranking 11th worldwide. Its divers geography and climates, ranging from fertile valleys to tropical lowlands and arid plateaus, alteration the cultivation of assorted crops that proviso home consumers and planetary markets.

Sector overview

Agriculture has shaped Mexico’s economy, nutrient information and civilization for millennia. Staple grains similar maize stay cardinal to regular life, portion high-value exports specified arsenic avocados, berries and tomatoes thrust overseas commercialized earnings.

Fresh fruits and vegetables person been economical mainstays successful Mexico for millennia. (Unsplash/Jacopo Maiarelli)

Agriculture contributes 3.8% of gross home merchandise (GDP), yet it punches supra its value successful trade: Agri-food exports reached US $19.4 cardinal from January done October 2024. Mexico’s cultivation assemblage encompasses 49 cardinal acres (20 cardinal hectares), with 47 cardinal acres (19.2 cardinal hectares) harvested successful 2024, generating a full accumulation worth of 855.8 cardinal pesos (US $45.36 billion). 

Trade agreements — astir notably the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA)—have strengthened marketplace access, portion caller opportunities successful Asia are emerging for tequila, java and specialty fruits.

The pursuing investigation examines the 5 astir important crops by accumulation worth and volume, highlighting their marketplace performance, pricing trends and economical contributions. Official information is drawn from Mexico’s Agricultural and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER).

Challenges

Despite its strengths, the assemblage faces persistent hurdles:

• Water scarcity: Northern states specified arsenic Sonora and Chihuahua are confronting dwindling reservoir levels, threatening irrigation-dependent crops similar wheat and corn.
• Climate change: Increased drought frequence and unpredictable rainfall disrupt planting cycles and trim yields.
• Smallholder vulnerability: More than 70% of Mexican farmers are smallholders with constricted entree to credit, security and modern technologies, leaving them exposed to marketplace volatility and utmost weather.
• Market pressures: Peso appreciation has reduced dollar-denominated returns connected exports specified arsenic avocados, portion planetary contention is intensifying successful cardinal crops similar tomatoes and berries.

Innovation

Mexico is addressing these challenges done exertion and caller concern models:

• Water-efficient farming: Drip irrigation, precision agriculture and protected cropping systems (greenhouses and shadiness houses) are gaining ground, improving yields portion conserving water.
• Genetic research: Public and backstage institutions are processing drought-resistant maize varieties to stabilize production.
• Cooperatives & just trade: Smallholder cooperatives are helping farmers unafraid amended prices, particularly for java and beans.
• Urban agriculture: Projects successful Mexico City and different large municipality centers link consumers straight with growers, reducing nutrient miles and supporting section economies.
• Sustainable certification: Organic farming and fair-trade certification are expanding, peculiarly successful export-oriented crops specified arsenic berries and coffee.

1. Corn: The bosom of Mexican cuisine

Corn originates successful Mexico, and the state is location to a wide scope of autochthonal maize varieties. (Conabio)

Corn is Mexico’s astir invaluable cultivation crop, generating 172 cardinal pesos successful accumulation worth successful 2023. More than a nutrient source, maize is cardinal to nationalist identity. Archaeological grounds traces the domestication of maize successful confederate Mexico implicit 9,000 years ago, and millions of small-scale farmers inactive cultivate autochthonal landraces, preserving biodiversity and accepted methods.

• Production: Forecast astatine 23.5 cardinal metric tons (MMT) for selling twelvemonth (MY) 2024-2025, a 16% alteration from the erstwhile twelvemonth owed to drought. Spring–summer rhythm accumulation was 18.6 MMT, portion fall–winter rhythm accumulation contributed 4.9 MMT, a 45% driblet owed to terrible drought successful Sinaloa. White maize accumulation reached 18.5 MMT, with Sinaloa contributing significantly. Mexico is connected way for achromatic maize self-sufficiency successful 2025, with nationalist availability projected to transcend 2 MMT.
• Market prices: The government-guaranteed terms for tiny producers is 5,840 pesos per ton (2025). Prices showed volatility owed to drought and accumulation variations, with achromatic maize prices remaining mostly unchangeable oregon somewhat declining betwixt October and December 2024.
• Outlook: MY 2025–2026 forecast: 24.5 MMT, a 7% summation driven by higher section prices and reduced home stocks. The Harvesting Sovereignty Program aims to boost achromatic maize accumulation to 25 MMT by 2030.

2. Avocados: Mexico’s ‘green gold’

Thanks to the precocious prices they command, avocados are sometimes referred to arsenic ‘green gold.’ (Jose Castanares/AFP via Getty Images)

Avocados are Mexico’s second-most invaluable crop, with a accumulation worth of 60 cardinal pesos successful 2023. Mexico is the world’s largest avocado exporter, with Michoacán dominating planetary markets.

• Production: 2024 forecast: 2.77 MMT, a 5% summation implicit 2023 (2.65 MMT), driven by beardown export demand, peculiarly from the U.S. Michoacán: 73% of nationalist output; Jalisco: 12%; State of Mexico: 5%. Planted area: 636,470 acres (257,571 hectares) successful 2023, up 2% from the erstwhile year.
• Market prices: Export worth decreased 12% successful 2023 contempt higher volumes owed to peso appreciation. Local producers reported little prices due to the fact that of smaller mean effect sizes caused by drought and above-average temperatures.
• Outlook: Favorable increasing conditions and conversion from accepted crops to high-value avocado orchards, peculiarly successful Jalisco, enactment near-term growth. Expansion continues, replacing corn, wheat, and pasture areas. Environmental scrutiny connected deforestation could power aboriginal planting.

3. Tomatoes: A cardinal export crop

Mexico produces a batch of tomatoes, including implicit 3.30 cardinal metric tons successful 2024. (Gobierno de Mexico)

Tomatoes are a large Mexican export, peculiarly to the U.S., Canada and Europe. 

• Production: 2024 forecast: 3.30 MMT, up 2% from 2023 (3.22 MMT), driven by export request and investments successful protected agriculture systems. Leading producers: Sinaloa (22%), San Luis Potosí (13%), Michoacán (7%). Harvested country successful 2023: 114,457 acres (46,319 hectares), producing 3.22 MMT.
• Market prices: The U.S. is the apical export market, with 1.82 MMT valued astatine US $2.7 cardinal successful 2023, representing a 1% measurement summation and 10% worth summation from 2022.
• Outlook: Transition toward greenhouses, shadiness houses and precocious tunnels mitigates clime risks. While short-term accumulation whitethorn drop, yields and prime are expected to amended implicit time.

4. Beans: A taste mainstay

Thirty-one antithetic taxon of beans are autochthonal to Mexico, and beans bring the highest prices connected a per-ton basis. (Gobierno de Mexico).

Beans are a staple of Mexican cuisine, important for nutrition and taste identity.

• Production: Forecast astatine 1.01 MMT for MY 2024-2025, a 41% rebound from the drought-driven debased of 724,000 tons successful 2023-2024. Recovery is owed to a 32% summation successful planted country and improved rainfall. Zacatecas and Sinaloa are superior producers; Sinaloa harvest expected 150,000–180,000 tons, surpassing the interior request of 100,000 tons.
• Market prices: The government-guaranteed terms is 27,000 pesos per ton (2025), the highest among large crops. Imports surged 230% successful 2023 to 313,000 tons valued astatine US $369 million.
• Outlook: President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Prosebien programme aims to boost output by 300,000 tons annually, targeting a 30% accumulation summation implicit six years to trim imports and execute nutrient sovereignty.

5. Wheat: A culinary staple

Wheat is simply a staple harvest successful Mexico, though the past harvest was affected by drought conditions successful Sonora and Sinaloa. (Gobierno de Mexico)

Wheat, introduced during Spanish assemblage times, is indispensable for breadstuff production. It faces important drought-related challenges, peculiarly successful northwestern states.

• Production: MY 2024–2025: 2.6 MMT, down 25% from the erstwhile year. Winter cycle: 2.53 MMT, affected by prolonged drought and record-low h2o levels successful Sonora and Sinaloa reservoirs.
• Market prices: Government-guaranteed price: 7,600 pesos per ton. To offset reduced home production, imports are forecast astatine 5.7 MMT, up 6%.
• Outlook: MY 2025–2026: forecast 1.7 MMT, down 36%, with imports projected astatine 6.4 MMT. Farmers are progressively shifting to little water-intensive crops.

Conclusion

Mexico’s cultivation assemblage is simply a planetary leader, combining affluent tradition, divers crops and beardown export performance. Challenges specified arsenic h2o scarcity, clime change, and smallholder vulnerability persist, but innovation, sustainable practices and authorities programs are strengthening resilience. Balancing heritage, modern exertion and planetary marketplace request volition beryllium cardinal to ensuring Mexico’s continued prominence successful agriculture.

As agriculture continues to evolve, entree to reliable information and adept cognition becomes progressively important. Wikifarmer is an planetary level that empowers farmers and agribusiness professionals done 3 halfway pillars: the Wikifarmer Marketplace, which connects producers with buyers globally; the Wikifarmer Library, a escaped cognition hub with thousands of articles authored by experts; and Wikifarmer Price Insights, which provides up-to-date marketplace quality connected cardinal crops and commodities. With millions of users worldwide, Wikifarmer combines applicable expertise with real-time marketplace data, making it a invaluable assets for stakeholders seeking to recognize and win successful the cultivation economy.

Irena Vélez is simply a writer astatine Wikifarmer.com, based successful Seville, Spain. She holds a Bachelor’s successful Journalism Honours from Carleton University successful Ottawa, Canada, and has a inheritance successful cultivation reporting. She writes research-based articles connected sustainable farming, harvest absorption and agrarian entrepreneurship, helping marque cultivation cognition accessible to farmers worldwide.