Over the last couple of years, the Mexican horticultural industry has seen rapid growth, yet rising costs provide a great challenge to growers and investors nowadays. Yet as in many countries all over the world, the higher production costs and shipping rates provide a great challenge to growers.
Tomorrow, the tradeshow GreenTech Americas starts in Querétaro, one of Mexico's most important horticultural regions. Exhibitors have seen rapid growth in the industry over the last couple of years, but what's the situation like nowadays? Several suppliers tell us about the biggest challenge growers are currently dealing with.
Stability of production costs
According to Manuel Soto, general director with Paskal Mexico, one of the main challenges for Mexican producers is the stability of production costs directly related to the increase in input prices. "All imported materials have had significant increases due to maritime freight."
Then there's the management and control of crop health, mainly the tomato virus. It results in a need for security in export market sales prices, which always remains a challenge for growers: they're dealing with greater costs and greater insecurities yet do not know if these investments will pay off.
Paskal Mexico is a supplier of greenhouse supplies like truss support systems and high wire hooks."We have maintained a policy of moderate price increases to support our customers. That is, we do not increase the prices of our products in the same proportion as the increases we receive in raw materials and maritime transport", Manuel concludes.
Paskal Mexico is present in booth 530
Remaining virus-free
"Since the start of the pandemic, we valerate, even more, the food of quality. From Mexican greenhouses, we supply mostly our northern neighbors the US and Canada, one of the most restrictive markets all over the world in meaning of virus-free and diseases; that is the challenge for Mexican growers", says Heriberto Camarena, director with Filclair Greenhouse América. As a supplier of greenhouse projects, Filclair helps growers build the right structure to create a safe growing environment. "An innocuous place", Heriberto calls it. "Consequently, it allows growers better production, fewer applications of fertilizers (really expensive today), and a reduction in the incidence of viruses."
According to Heriberto, implementing the right technology, like artificial intelligence, big data, and robots, are some of the future gadgets of greenhouse production. "But in the meantime, it still is an "expensive" solution. To prevent that, as owners and growers, they are looking for structures that allow growing perfectly in medium and medium to hi-tech implementation right away, but also know this same structure will work perfectly in the near future to equipped with hi-tech solutions." He adds Filclair specializes in patent & solutions for growing the most green-way, safer places for people working there, and the best climate adjusted to each region all over the world. "Green Safety is a compromise not only to guarantee your heritage acquisition but a compromise from ourselves to the environment and the future."
Filclair is present at booth 226
Coco supply
Since 2018, Julio del Toro has partnered with Dutch Plantin, importing coco products into the Mexican market as he saw the demand for hydroponic growing using stable starting materials increase. Especially the growing blueberry market has shown a high demand for stable coco products - something that is only enforced by the low resources of water available for the horticultural industry. "The lack of water available for the horticultural industry provides growers with a challenge."
Nowadays, Julio also sees how the cost increase of supplies such as fertilizers and others provide a big challenge to growers, as they have a hard time passing these costs down the chain.
Dutch Plantin is present in stand 400