On August 2nd the Civil Association of the College of Economists of the State of Sinaloa (Colegio de Economistas del Estado de Sinaloa A. C.), chaired by Cristina Isabel Ibarra Armenta, held the forum: opportunities for the growth of Sinaloa.

The event is developed in several tables, the first of them was focused on primary activities, where the Director of the Commission for Research and Defense of Vegetables of Sinaloa – Confederation of Agricultural Associations of the State of Sinaloa (CIDH-CAADES), Mario Haroldo Robles Escalante, focused on the present and future of horticulture in Sinaloa.

In his speech he explained the development of the national and American horticultural sector, clearly describing the strengths and weaknesses of Mexico’s fruit and vegetable sector, as well as the productive potential of the state of Sinaloa, especially in the highlands, which lacks the infrastructure and security to develop it.

He gave a detailed explanation in the context of the TMEC, of the conflicting interests of fruit and vegetable growers in Sinaloa and Florida, which have been reflected in accusations, especially in the case of tomatoes, of dumping, where agreements have had to be reached to suspend these accusations and avoid the application of tariffs that would make the activity unviable.

Currently, growers in Florida are filing a lawsuit before the U.S. Department of Commerce to suspend the agreement and automatically apply the tariffs.

All this implies that our sector must organize among the different states of the country together with the Federal Government to defend the interests of Mexican growers.

He also talked about the current problems of the sector, mainly due to the increase in production costs, especially agrochemicals and, on the other hand, a highly appreciated dollar that limits the growers’ income, in addition to the fact that the skilled labor for this sector has limitations in the sense that young people have gone to the United States and other parts of the country, which results in a deficit in labor and an increase in its cost.

He also spoke of the importance of the Federal Government continuing to invest to maintain the phytosanitary status of the country and in some cases, progress must be made, as in the case of the fruit fly, so that Sinaloa is free of this pest, which will allow better development, especially in the hose sector in the south of the state.

The event was attended by Rosario Antonio Beltran, Director of Agricola Belher; the Director of CAADES, Manuel Garcia Lopez; as well as the Director of our horticultural community Veggies from Mexico, Georgius Gotsis Fontes.

By: Claudia Iveth López – Communication Coordinator of CAADES.

Source: CAADES