The Mexican raspberry industry strives for market expansion and lawful production

The 15th Annual Anaberries Congress held in Guadalajara, Mexico, this year, gathered a panel of local raspberry experts and leaders to analyze the industry.

With ever-expanding planted areas and ideal climate conditions, Mexico is currently the world’s second leading raspberry supplier, with 219,000 metric tons projected for 2025. The U.S. is Mexico’s biggest raspberry buyer (and supplier in the off-season), but the Hispanic country is looking to break into markets beyond its shores. The target, says Rigoberto Guerrero, CEO at Hortifrut México, is Asia, where Mexico only holds an 8 percent market share. 

However, Guerrero warned that the industry must not neglect the domestic market, as local demand has increased in the past 5 to 6 years. "We have a lot to offer domestically and, above all, to Latin America. We’re 680 million Latin Americans–it’s a very potent market.”

Market expansion is one way to grow the industry as a whole, but there’s a more granular challenge to tackle, as Guerrero thinks per capita consumption is very low: “It doesn’t even reach 150g per person.”

Frozen raspberries—an easy and healthy snack  

The task of analyzing the frozen raspberry business was in the hands of Antonio Domínguez, President of the International Raspberry Organization (IRO), who clarified that the industry is very different from that of fresh fruit. 

According to Domínguez, frozen raspberries owe their success to their very category, as they are “a very healthy product that can be eaten straight from the bag, in baked goods, berry juice concentrates, freeze-dried and dehydrated.” 

Growing this side of the business is another challenge for the local industry, as the IRO executive was clear in stating that only 5 percent of the sector is dedicated to the frozen category. “It’s no more than 10,000 tons,” he clarified.

Protecting lawful production in Mexico

Franz Meiners, CEO of BlueDrop, analyzed the industry from a regulatory perspective, emphasizing Mexico’s 1996 Federal Variety Law. 

Meiners mentioned illegal propagation as a serious issue caused by the need of producers, and enabled by the illegal channels that have emerged to facilitate it. “I think it needs to be attacked from a more holistic point of view,” Meiners said.

The executive highlighted that all actors in the supply chain and the market as a whole have a responsibility to meet the needs of producers and prevent any problems.

"We can set up mechanisms to have protections and an ongoing development of varieties and companies, which will allow genetic programs to see Mexico as a destination where they can bring their varieties, develop and commercialize them,” he said. 

For Joaquín López, Operations Manager at Driscoll's Mexico, the local industry is "keeping up with volume" while facing a transition in terms of varieties. 

He added that the next years will be a “bridge period” for the Mexican raspberry industry to retake flight: “The opportunity here is to do it in a holistic way, so we can better profit from the advantages these new varieties bring along.” 

According to Germán Fragoso, R&D and Licensing Director at Latin Berry Plants, the industry must focus on three key action tenets to ultimately prevent the use of protected varieties: deterrent laws, technical and strategic efforts, and communication and education for producers. 

Reporting by Macarena Bravo, from Guadalajara, Mexico.