The Mexican state of Jalisco is on the verge of signing a protocol to allow exports of fresh berries to China, heralding a new era for the country's burgeoning berry exports.

A delegation from the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) is travelling to China this week to meet with their Chinese counterparts to hammer out the details of the deal.

Sagarpa's representative in Jalisco, Javier Guízar, said the state's berries have the potential to become a major export item to China, surpassing avocado shipments.

"Once the Chinese market has opened up for berry exports from Jalisco it will give the state's producers access to a potential 300m consumers with a high purchasing power," Guízar stated.

Guízar noted that the planted area was likely to increase considerably in 2015 in order to be able to satisfy demand in China. "We could see acreage rise by 1,000 hectares in the coming year," he said.

Around 85 per cent of Jalisco's berry production is sold overseas to markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The state produces around 45,000 tons of berries a year from a total planted area of 3,000 hectares.