Mexico becomes world’s leading strawberry exporter

Mexico moved ahead of Spain as the world’s leading strawberry exporter in 2020.

Spain was the front runner for over two decades, as $646 million in sales were conducted in 2020, while Mexico reached over $851 million, an increase of 12.4 percent from 2019, as reported by Mexico News Daily.

The U.S. came in third with $477 million.

Mexican strawberries’ main destination was the U.S., having imported 99.3 percent of Mexico’s shipments. Spain mainly exports within Europe.

Mexico overcame hurdles prompted by the current pandemic such as shortage of labor and the collapse of foodservice demand, to which 15 percent of the fruit is sold to.

While on the other hand, the pandemic contributed to the purchase of foods perceived as healthy, such as berries, according to the USDA.

The Mexican strawberry market surpassed the Belgian market in 2012, the Dutch in 2016, and the U.S. market in 2019.