PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO - National and international leaders of the horticultural industry, agricultural growers, government officials, and supply chain innovators will be converging in Puerto Vallarta next month, for an event not to be missed.

The event you ask? AMHPAC’s 8th Annual Convention located at the Sheraton Buganvilias® Resort & Convention Center on August 27^th-28^th. So, mark your calendars and sign up now to meet with some of the industry’s pioneers, politicians, and up-and-comers. 

“With this event, we are creating a space where members can meet, collaborate, and contribute on those issues that are affecting their business,” Alfredo Diaz, AMHPAC’s CEO, tells me. “AMHPAC is providing a program with topics that are priorities for the daily operations of our attendees. This makes the annual convention an ideal event for both the producer and the supplier of goods and services as well as a great place for creating new business opportunities and cultivating established relationships.”

As for the impact that Mexican produce has on the world market, Trade Information from Mexico's Tariff Information System via Internet (SIAVI for its initials in Spanish), shows that in 2014, 91.6% of all Mexican produce exports were destined to the United States. Canada was the second biggest destination for Mexican produce exports that year with 1.7%, Japan third with 1.1% and the remaining 5.7% is distributed between 87 other countries, Spain, Turkey, Guatemala and the Netherlands being the 4th through 7th places.

“That is out of a total of 9.1 million metric tons of Mexican fruits and vegetables. That clearly has an impact on the world market, but nowhere is our produce nearly as important as it is in the United States,” Mr. Diaz adds. 

During the event, attendees will address topics that include organic agriculture, management of root-knot nematode, and social responsibility. Also on the ticket are topics ranging from Assurance Protected Horticulture, Leadership Development, Climate Change and its impact on protected agriculture, to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Sustainable Agriculture, and the Economic and socio-political environment of Mexico.

To kick off the event, the organization will be hosting its 2^nd Annual AMHPAC Race on Thursday, August 27th with two categories: the 5K and 10K. To sign up, please a request to [email protected].  The annual opening will also be held on the 27^th with dignitaries from around the country.

“One of the many highlights of this year’s Convention is AMHPC’s 4^th Commercial Mission,” Mr. Diaz noted. “This event will allow Mexican growers the chance to meet with major traders as well as both retail and wholesale executives from the United States and Canada to inspire business opportunities and discussions.”

On August 28^th, AMHPAC will hold its Annual General Assembly, an exclusive event for AMHPAC members, where owners of agricultural companies, as well as representatives of different input supplying and service companies, will gather to make decisions about the future of the organization and the industry.

When I ask Mr. Diaz what differentiates this event from the bunch, he tells me that this is the perfect setting to be face-to-face with the different sectors of the industry in a productive but relaxing atmosphere.  

“It is an open forum for leaders who wish to share their opinions and make decisions on the direction this industry must take,” he adds. “Speakers with new proposals are also participating, and will help plant the seed of innovation.” 

Here are some great stats to consider as you prepare for the event, and even if you are not attending THIS year:

• Protected Agriculture in Mexico is represented almost in its entirety by 3 products: tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers.
• According to AMHPAC´s estimates, tomatoes are the most popular crop under protection with about 65% of the country´s protected surface, followed by bell peppers with 18% and cucumbers with the remaining 17%.
• Mexico´s protected agriculture has grown considerably in the past few years, if we look at it from the market´s perspective, we can see that imports to the U.S. of Mexican produce, that is reported as grown under protected schemes, have increased exponentially.
• In 2012, USDA´s AMS reported Mexico imported a little over 2 million tons of tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers.
• Out of that 2 million tons of tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers, an average of 34% was reported as protected agriculture.
• By 2014, U.S. imports of those same products increased to 2.2 million tons, but the ratio between protected and open field production, stands at an average 49% of the total reported as protected agriculture.
• Cucumber imports to the U.S. have seen a rather large increase in volume and in protected to open field ratios. Reports show imports for 492 thousand tons in 2012 with 18% reported as protected, and by 2014 that went up to 580 thousand tons imported, and 41% of that reported as protected. 

For those attending next month’s event in Puerto Vallarta, I’ll see you there. For those still on the fence, I hope this will help to tip the scales. 

AMHPAC