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Mexico tomato area down but volume up, USDA reports
Posted on: 6/23/2010
Mexico’s tomato area may be decreasing, but greater yields and expanding volume of shadehosue tomatoes are boosting tomato output and exports. Total Mexican tomato production in the 2010-11 season is forecast to reach 2.2 million metric tons, up slightly from 2009-10, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. “It is expected that good international market prices as well as a favorable exchange rates will encourage producers to reach a higher level of production,” the report said. The mid-June report said the volume and value exports from Mexico to the U.S. in 2009-10 are expected to be higher than 2008-09. USDA shipment figures from August 2009 through June 19 showed Mexican season-to-date tomato shipments to the U.S. totaled the equivalent of 30.8 million 20-pound cartons, up 48% from 20.8 million cartons the same period a year ago. The value of January through April 2010 U.S. imports of Mexican tomatoes was $787 million, up 55% from $505 million for January-April 2009. The USDA estimates Mexico will have a total of 144,000 acres in 2010, the USDA said, down from 187,300 acres in 2000 and 211,225 acres in 1990. The drop in area planted to tomatoes hasn’t stopped a long-term climb in production. Yields have jumped with the use of protected agriculture and other technological advances, the USDA said. Yields for Mexico’s tomato growers have jumped from about 20,400 pounds per acre in 1990 to 43,700 pounds per acre in 2010. The USDA FAS report said the January 2010 freeze that damaged the Florida tomato crop resulted in a strong export season in the state of Sinaloa and increased domestic prices. In December 2009, a 25-lb. box of tomatoes was $10 (U.S.), but the U.S. market prices increased to about $30 by February 2010. Long-term trends The USDA report said industry sources estimate there are 7,907 acres in protected acreage in Mexico, most being devoted to tomatoes. “Greenhouse/shadehouse operations are mainly concentrated in the states of Sinaloa, Baja California and Jalisco, but there are also greenhouse operations in the states of Colima, Mexico, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, and Zacatecas,” the report said. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that greenhouse tomatoes accounted for 34% of volume in 2008-09, up from 29% in 2007-08. Allison Moore, spokeswoman for the Nogales, Ariz.-based Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, said she believes most tomatoes now imported to the U.S. from Mexico are grown under protected conditions. Sinaloa, the winter production area in Mexico, features 3,300 acres of tomatoes grown in greenhouses or shadehouse out of 37,000 acres devoted to tomatoes, the USDA report said. The report said growers in Sinaloa are the main producers and exporters of fresh tomatoes, with other significant production in Michoacán, Jalisco, and Baja California Sur. From May to October, growers in Baja California are the main producers and exporters of fresh tomatoes, while operations in Michoacán, Jalisco, and Morelos follow Baja California’s production. “Growers in Jalisco produce tomatoes for the summer cycle, and usually export in October, November, and December after Baja California,” the report said. Production costs for open-field tomatoes in Mexico generally range from $1,556 per acre to $2,365, the USDA report said. The cost of greenhouse and shadehouse production is as high as $8,900 per acre.

Article Source: The Packer