Abstract

CRUZ-DELGADO, Daniela; LEOS-RODRIGUEZ, Juan Antonio  and  ALTAMIRANO-CARDENAS, J. Reyes. Mexico: factors explaining fruit and vegetable production under free trade. Rev. Chapingo Ser.Hortic [online]. 2013, vol.19, n.3, pp.267-278. ISSN 2007-4034.  https://doi.org/10.5154/r.rchsh.2012.05.029.

The cropping pattern in Mexico has evolved due to the characteristics of agriculture and weather conditions that largely determine annual production volumes, which are directly affected by changes in harvested area and yield. Trends in consumption patterns and product prices are also determining factors when farmers decide what crops to plant. Agricultural production responds to the demand resulting from the country's trade openness, heightened by the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. The main objective of this research was: to quantify the factors behind the growth in fruit and vegetable production in Mexico during the period 1994 to 2009, through the effects of area, yield, land-use structure and their combined effect. FAO methodology was used FAO (1994). The increase in harvested area explains 100 % of the growth in fruit production, and yield explains 72.6 % of the growth in vegetable production. Mexico is the main supplier of these products to the United States but it is losing market share in this market even though the total value of its fruit and vegetable exports has grown significantly.

Keywords : Yield; area; structure; cropping pattern; foreign trade.

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