Mexico City – Lourdes Cruz Trinidad, the General Coordinator of International Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sedar), reported that the Governments of Mexico and the Chinese province of Henan have agreed to strengthen their commercial relationship in order to open new markets in the medium term that respond to the growing demand for food in this region.
Mexican secretary Victor Villalobos Arambula will travel to China this month to sign pending protocols for the export of various products, including blackberries, and to negotiate the export of Persian lime, Jalisco avocado, oranges, and grapefruit.
In turn, the director of the National Agricultural Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Senasica), Francisco Javier Trujillo Arriaga, said that Mexico’s health and quarantine policies have been aligned with those of its Chinese business partners since 2003 when they signed the relevant health protocols.
Prior to the meeting, the Chinese delegation visited avocado orchards in Jalisco. The deputy governor of the province of Henan, Wu Goudin, said that the first commercial agreement will promote the importation of avocado from that Mexican state to the Chinese province and that they were seeking to establish a direct air route to achieve this.
Wu Goudin said that Henan has high agricultural production, as it produces nearly 65 million tons of agricultural products per year in 2.3 million hectares. However, it demands a large amount of food because it has a population of nearly 109 million inhabitants.
To boost trade flow, he said, Henan is connected through direct air routes with countries in Europe, Asia, and America, as well as through railways with 11 European nations, has connectivity with the world’s main seaports, and a platform for digital commerce.