The Mexican berry industry is expecting a growth of between eight and 10 percent in 2022, according to a study by Agroberichten Buitenland.

The sector has grown significantly over recent years and will continue to do so in 2022.

Half of Mexico's berry exports come from the state of Jalisco which are currently the third most important agro-export in the country after beer and avocado.

In the last decade, strawberry, blueberry and raspberry production has tripled from 257,000 metric tons (MT) in 2011 to 754,000MT in 2020.

The total value of Mexican berry exports has increased fivefold during that time from US$516 million in 2011 to US$2.4 billion in 2020.

Raspberry exports have risen especially quickly from $180 million in 2011 to $1.1 billion in 2020. The National Association of Berry Exporters expects that in 2022, the total value of raspberry exports will exceed $3 billion.

Berries are grown in 22 of the 32 states in Mexico with Michoacán, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Sinaloa and Baja California being the main producing areas.

Jalisco has some 10,000 hectares of berry farms and contributes 50 percent of the total export volume. Technology is used heavily in the state and growers obtain higher yields per hectare.

This type of agriculture also creates many jobs with around 720,000 people working in the sector. Between 60,000 and 70,000 of these jobs are located in Jalisco.

Regarding the challenges of the berry sector's growth, finding enough workers and global logistics issues are the among the top problems for the area, according to Agroberichten Buitenland.