The Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, as well as producers and agribusinesses from Mexico and the Netherlands carry out a virtual trade mission for horticulture aimed at increasing technological cooperation and expanding the commercial exchange between both nations, given its productive potential and advances in the innovation of protected agriculture.

At the opening of the event, the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Víctor Villalobos Arámbula, pointed out that the objective of the meeting is for Dutch companies and institutions to better understand trends in the Mexican fruit and vegetable sector and for Mexican companies to obtain information on technology. , services and products offered by the Netherlands.

He affirmed that this mission will strengthen the commercial relationship between the two countries, enable strategic investment alliances in the agricultural sector and face the global market, taking advantage of the digital revolution in agriculture, genomics, technology, in which the Netherlands is a world leader.

He specified that the use of science and innovation make it possible to produce practically anywhere and use less land and inputs, reduce environmental impact and greater resilience. These are, he added, technologies that in the country are key to reversing the agricultural trade deficit in the last five years, and that have placed us among the top ten world exporters of agricultural products.

In a virtual meeting, he highlighted the potential available to continue diversifying the types of vegetables, legumes and fruits, under innovative production systems in a circular economy that meets the highest standards of certification in quality and food safety at a global level and that improve the competitiveness of the horticultural sector.

Within this framework, Secretary Villalobos Arámbula proposed to the Government of the Netherlands and its horticultural sector to work together on a "Horticultural Plan 2030", which allows the commercial relationship of the two countries to grow and become a reference in the circular economy global.

It reported that Mexico's agri-food exports to the European Union represent only four percent of total foreign sales, where the Netherlands is the most representative since it absorbs a quarter of trade and is the country with the most foreign direct investment in Mexico, in the beverage and tobacco industries.

He stressed that Mexico and the Netherlands are natural partners and there is potential to work on an agenda of change towards the circular economy of agriculture, since the future of humanity's nutrition depends on avoiding the depletion of soil and water, and the reduction of nutrients and the use of chemicals and antibiotics to move towards fully sustainable production systems.

He pointed out that in 2019 the Mexican horticultural sector represented more than 14 billion dollars with 2.3 million hectares and a production close to 40 million tons, where protected agriculture is an existing industry in the 32 states, with more than 54 thousand hectares nationwide.

The horticultural area planted under cover has experienced rapid growth, with an average annual rate close to 20 percent in the last 10 years and currently reaches 29 thousand hectares, which corresponds to four percent of the total area planted with vegetables.

The country's horticultural producers and agribusinesses indicated that this initiative represents the opportunity to advance in the modernization of the Mexican countryside, which will help to continue and strengthen the dynamism in production, supply and fulfillment of exports with their commercial partners.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands, Carola Schouten; the ambassador of the Netherlands in Mexico, Wilfred Mohr, and the representative of our nation in the Netherlands, José Antonio Zabalgoitia, among others.