The nostalgia consumption of Chinese, Hindus and Latinos has carried out the sale of Mexican papaya in the United States, a market that will buy 8 percent more than tons of the fruit produced in Colima, Nayarit, Nuevo LeĂ³n, Chiapas and MichoacĂ¡n, Nazario RodrĂguez Guerra, president of ProexportPapaya, reported.
“We will sell 254 thousand tons of papaya from Mexico to the United States, despite the fact that the economic uncertainty registered in 2025,” the businessman told Forbes Mexico.
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According to the fruit producer with operations in Colima, 8 out of 10 papayas consumed in the United States are exported from the fields of Mexico.
“Our market in the United States is focused on Latinos, Chinese and Hindus, who eat papaya by tradition and we are growing quickly in the Anglo -Saxon market,” said the business representative.
He added that Americans do not consume for inheritance and papaya tradition, so the nostalgia market of Chinese, Hindus and Mexicans carry out the sale of the Mexican fruit.
A high demand for papaya to meet the Chinese, Hindus and Mexican market will increase papaya exports in 2025, when more than 254 thousand tons are sent, he said.
In 2024, Papaya producers in Mexico exported more than 235 thousand tons of the fruit to the United States, when a year earlier they sent more 203 thousand tons of food to be consumed by Chinese, Hindus and Mexicans, according to ProexportPapaya.
The business leader recalled that the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump to Mexican exports have not affected them at the moment.
“The sector less affected by Donald Trump’s tariffs is the food,” he said.
If tariffs have charged us at some point, when the days of entry into force of the collection of the rates and pay in what is fixed by the president of the Republic, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo with President United States, Donald Trump, said Nazario RodrĂguez Guerra.
The president of ProexportPapaya explained that in the United States and Canada they cannot produce papaya, so the natural export markets are Mexico and Guatemala, a country that has been losing market.
“The industry has had ups and downs (in the last 15 years, although it has normally behaved on the rise and we have growths in exports above two digits in some years,” he said.
Producers have lived crises caused by the issue of safety, which gave rise to the creation of ProexportPapaya to organize and work hand in hand with the Food and Medicines Administration (FDA) and the National Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality Service (Senasica), details.
In 2011, a salmonella outbreak was recorded in papayas sold in the United States, “but that year we resolved and we could export without great ups and downs,” said Nazario RodrĂguez Guerra.
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In 2017, another salmonella outbreak was given in the papaya market, which caused the exports of the fruit produced in Mexico to lower during that year and 2018.
“In 2019 another case of Salmonella Severe was registered the United States, so exports lost again and Mexico lost market share in papaya against Guatemala,” he added.
Guatemala took advantage of salmonella outbreaks to position itself in the nostalgia market for the sale of papaya in the United States, Nazario RodrĂguez Guerra explained.
From 2020, we had a growth and recovery of Mexican papaya sales market share in the United States, even customers were removed to Guatemala, he pointed out.
“Today we know that Colima is by far the state that most exports papaya and today is the state that most sows papaya in Mexico.”
Colima contributes 65 percent of papaya exports in Mexico, while Nayarit does so with 11 percent and Baja California, which does not produce that fruit and if he issues certificates, gives 12 percent, and Nuevo LeĂ³n delivers 8 percent, he said.
Baja California gives certificates to be exported papaya de Colima, MichoacĂ¡n and Nayarit, the same goes for Nuevo LeĂ³n that sends the fruit of Colima and Chiapas, he said.
Colima production is focused on the export market of the United States and Canada, the largest buyers of the fruit, said the president of ProexportPapaya.
Today Colima has conditions such as abundant water and peace among producers, which do not suffer much for insecurity, as is less than 24 hours in the United States market, especially Texas, he said.
