Last Thursday and Friday, the picturesque city of Querétaro played host to the Produce Marketing Association's (PMA) industry event, Fresh Connections: Mexico, bringing together leading representatives from the country's fruit and vegetable sector for in-depth discussions of the Mexican market's challenges and advantages.

'Converting trends into tactics: a renewed vision of consumer demand', was the title of the first talk, given by Imalinx marketing director Inés Masallach.

The market analyst and marketing expert said there were interesting shifts affecting consumption preferences in a nation where work, the economy and security were the biggest issues of concern. However, the country is also following in the footsteps of others in the push for more environmentally-friendly products and services.

"There is something going on in Mexico and that's an interest in protecting the environment. From that stems the interest in organic and natural products," she said, noting that consumers of this ilk were willing to pay up for organic products.

She highlighted the Mexican middle class was growing with higher incomes, leading to changes in lifestyles and families, resulting in a "hyper-acculturation" that affected consumers' habits.

Masallach highlighted the relevance of women for the produce market, as now they were not just the heads of house but managers of higher family incomes. She suggested the industry should focus on new ways to give women what they needed in order to optimize their time while also feeding their families with healthy, tasty and quick foods.

Communication and greater internet connectivity were other areas Massalach discussed.

"The population is connected, always online...if we now look online for one of the growers we are promoting, what do we find," she asked the audience, inviting them to reflect.

Euromonitor International regional manager for Latin America, Carlos Otero told the audience that in the future, the Mexican economy would be much more independent of its neighbors to the north.

"The trend is to become independent and consolidate....all the world has to eat and what will vary is what you'll eat," he said.

"There is a trend to cook more with organic products at home. Effectively, global changes impact rural consumption," he said, adding that Mexico would have "more mature" production in 30 years.

In this sense, speakers at the event said Mexico's fruit and vegetable industry needed to open itself to new technologies and trends, making the most of changes to better position itself.

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