The production and commercialization of pecan nut in Mexico

Abstract

Mexico is the second pecan nut producing country and the first exporter of this product in the world. With the objective of proposing actions to favor the productivity of this activity, the operation of its production and commercialization was characterized in three of the most important nut production areas in Mexico: the Comarca Lagunera, Hermosillo (Sonora) and Jiménez (Chihuahua). For the above, two types of questionnaires applied in 2014 and 2015 were formulated. One was applied to a randomly determined sample of producers. The second was addressed to product marketers-processors. The results showed that the predominant garden sizes for the Comarca Lagunera and Jimenez are smaller than those of Hermosillo, where they are up to 800 ha. The number of pests is greater in the Comarca Lagunera and Jiménez. In Hermosillo, in addition, the producer has more infrastructure to manage the crop and the producers receive more technical and financial assistance, which explains the higher yields obtained. In the aspect of commercialization-transformation, the number of companies is greater in Jiménez, followed by Comarca Lagunera and in the end Hermosillo, a region that markets nuts to China directly by the producers. It is concluded that to improve production in the Comarca Lagunera and Jiménez Chihuahua, it is necessary to attend aspects of organization, training and financing, and to improve the commercialization in the three study areas it is necessary to create a system of information on prices and companies that allow it to the producer sell at the best price.