Jalisco, Mexico - Grupo Molina, a Mexican company from Sonora, will invest 25 million dollars to establish 500 hectares of table grape plantations in the municipality of Tuxcacuesco, Jalisco.

The establishment of vineyards in Jalisco "marks a new stage in the diversification of Jalisco's agricultural sector," said the head of the Secretariat of Rural Development (Seder) of Jalisco, Hector Padilla Gutierrez.

"This comes at a time when there is almost no production of table grapes in the world and that represents an opportunity for Jalisco to increase its already extensive portfolio with this crop, which requires major investments and will be handled by professionals from a great company. This is the number one company in the export of grapes," said the head of the Seder.

The director of the Grupo Molina company, Marco Antonio Molina Rodriguez, said they had chosen to install the vineyards in Tuxcacuesco because of its tropical, dry, microclimate, which was a determinant in choosing to invest in Jalisco and not in Peru.

He said that the vineyards in this region of Jalisco would allow them to generate between 400 and 500 fixed jobs, and an extra 2,000 temporary jobs in the harvest season.

According to Molina Rodríguez, the company previously performed two experimental plantings in Tuxcacuesco with satisfying results. By 2018 the group plans to produce 350,000 boxes, each with nine kilograms of grapes and, once they have planted 500 Hectares, production will amount to 10 million boxes of fruit.

He added that, according to their business plan, the harvest of Jalisco grapes will take place each year in April to take advantage of the opportunities in the national and international markets.

He also said that Grupo Molina was the leader in the export of table grapes in the state of Sonora, as they marketed 3 million boxes of this product.