By Georgius Gotsis 

Director of Veggies from Mexico – CAADES

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, among others), Egypt, and Kuwait have a combined Gross Domestic Product of USD 2.504 trillion and are undoubtedly a region of opportunity. Tourism, education, construction, innovation, water desalination, and, of course, food and beverages are some of the needs these countries import from the world. With more than 160 million mouths to feed, their demand for fresh, high-quality food is growing daily.

The main foodstuffs imported by this region are cereals, fruits, vegetables, meat, sugar, and dairy products. Saudi Arabia imports $2 billion worth of fruits and vegetables annually. As a desert area with high temperatures and little water, Saudi Arabia highly depends on exporting countries.

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According to the Economic Complexity Observatory, for the primary commodities we cultivate in Sinaloa, these nations procure between $150 and $180 million worth of tomatoes, more than $50 million worth of peppers, and more than $30 million worth of cucumbers. The main suppliers of these products are Jordan, Holland, Morocco, Spain, and Iran.

Selling to them from Sinaloa sounds appealing, but logistics and transport expenses would be prohibitive. However, on a visit to these countries in 2016, I saw Mexican berries and avocados in their supermarkets. We might try airfreighting some very specialized fruits or vegetables, like cluster tomatoes, colored mini bell peppers, etc.

From my perspective, we must seek temporary opportunities for business for our products in both Arab countries, Asia, and Europe. For example, in February 2017, while visiting Fruit-Logistica in Berlin, I met the president of the growers of shade house de Almería. He told me how, at that time, for various reasons, their Italian squash were being sold in England for $50 a box. In Sinaloa, at that same time, the squash were being sold for $4 at the border. With that differential, if they had had the logistics, phytosanitary requirements, markets, and financial knowledge, a grower from Sinaloa could have “made a killing” exporting, even by air, his squash to London.

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Due to climate, market, and yield issues, this type of situation occurs every day with different products around the globe. And that is where golden opportunities could arise.

With the use of Big Data, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence, it will be easier to “connect the dots” and simplify knowledge, opportunities, logistics, marketing, and payments. We hope that in the future, we will offer tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers from Sinaloa in North America and globally.