Aug 262010
 

The table shows the top 10 exports relating to food and drink.

RankProductAnnual exports (approx., US$ millions)
1Beer1,800
2Tomatoes1,100
3Tequila & Mezcal740
4Bell peppers610
5Avocados600
6Coffee325
7Onions280
8Pork270
9Limes & lemons260
10Watermelon210

The actual value of exports for each product varies widely from year to year. The figures quoted in the table are an average of the last few years for which data are available. They underestimate the importance of strawberries, exports of which have risen sharply since 2004. In the past couple of years, exports of strawberries have exceeded watermelon in value.

Stamp showing tomato exports

How many countries have featured tomatoes on a stamp?

Small wonder that the “Mexico exports” set of stamps in use from the 1970s to the 1990s featured many agricultural products in its designs, including tomatoes (pictured here), tequila, beer, coffee, honey, strawberries, limes, cotton and citrus fruits. We plan to look more closely at some of these items in future posts.

Agriculture is analyzed in chapter 15 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Mexico’s exports are examined in chapter 20. Buy your copy today, so you have this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography available whenever you need it.

  5 Responses to “Mexico’s top 10 agriculture-related exports”

  1. I imagine that marajuana exports are near the top of the agricultural exports, but cannot find data on the dollar earnings from exports of marajuana. I guess that marajuana exports probably rival beer for the top spot. Drug trade estimates suggest Mexico earns $30 – $40 billion a year from the drug trade. I suggest that at least 10% of this, or $3-$4 billion is from marajuana exports.

  2. Yes, as you appreciate, the table only shows legal exports. Your figure for marijuana exports sounds perfectly plausible.

  3. How about a tomato on a license plate? The current logo on the Sinaloa license plates

    http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/world/MX_SINX.html
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/84047449@N00/830185624

  4. Thanks for your great addition to our blog and links to relevant images. We may have to write a post sometime about the geography of Mexico’s license plates…

  5. That would be awesome! I love your site

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