Gov’t to pash flower exports

Tuesday, 26 November 2013 00:10
thenews.com.mx

 
Agricultural Development Secretary Eduardo Gasca Pliego has said that the Mexico State government will continue providing support to the flower exportation industry, in a bid to increase exports to the U.S. and Canada according a government release.

Food Production Secretariat (Sagarpa) Federal Delegate Heriberto Ortega Guerrero said that floriculture is the state’s most important economic activity in the agricultural sector, and that Mexico State is responsible for 80 percent of the nation’s flower exports to North American neighbors.

Villa Guerrero Flower-growers Association (Asflorvi) President Abel Tapia Flores said that in order to make the industry more profitable, there are certain types of assistance that the government can provide, such as mass refrigeration for post-harvest with subsidized electricity, local plant disease studies, price monitoring and the facilitation of inter-state distribution facilitation.

Gasca Pliego said at the Villa Guerrero Flower Expo 2013 that he would guarantee the sales of 6,700 hectares worth of flower production, which would gross about 4.4 billion pesos ($337 million). Although a large portion of these flowers are destined for foreign markets, the state also satisfies its internal needs for various festivals.

He said that if flower-growers are to reach this production benchmark, it is important that they be organized.
The region is suited with the right climatic conditions for flowers, he added, and the organization factor is important in being able to satisfy international market demands.

Gasca Pliego was accompanied at the expo by Villa Guerrero Municipal President Sergio Estrada, federal Deputy Gerardo Hernández Tapia and local Deputy Marco Antonio Rodríguez, where flower growers debuted new flower types and arrangements, as well as new machinery and fertilizers.

THE NEWS