Top strawberry exporters: Mexico displaces Spain from the lead

Mexico displaced Spain from the top position among the world’s largest exporters of strawberries, according to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).

While Mexican exports of fresh strawberries increased at a year-on-year rate of 11% in 2022, to US$833 million, the corresponding exports from Spain fell 14%, to US$733 million.

Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) refers that strawberries are several species of creeping plants of the genus Fragaria, a name related to the «fragrance» it possesses (Latin, fraga), cultivated for its edible fruit.

The strawberry is a conical or almost round fruit, of variable size depending on the species (from 15 to 22 mm in diameter), crowned by green sepals, red in color and with a flavor that varies from acidic to very sweet.

What most characterizes this fruit is its intense aroma.

But in reality it is not a fruit, but a thickening of the floral receptacle, a fleshy modification of the stem with the function of containing within it the fruits of the plant; being the «pips» – achenes – that are on this infructescence, the real fruits.

Each strawberry has between 150 and 200 achenes.

The wild strawberry is native to Europe, specifically to the Alps region.

Strawberry exporters

According to MAPA, it seems that strawberries began to be cultivated in France in the 15th century, and somewhat later (18th century) in Spain.

It was the Spanish, Portuguese and English who spread it throughout Europe and America, even reaching some parts of Asia.

Formerly the Europeans knew the species Fragaria vesca; but during the colonization, the Spaniards discovered in Chile a species, the Fragaria chilonensis.

From these two a better one was obtained, the strawberry, more tasty and resistant.

Other major strawberry exporters in 2022 were the United States, with $596 million and a year-on-year growth of 4 percent, and the Netherlands, with $301 million and a drop of 18 percent.

Depending on the varieties, strawberry trees bloom from late winter to early summer, so the fruits ripen throughout spring and well into summer; from March through July.

These fruits give off an unmistakable scent when they are at their optimum point of consumption, making them recognizable from a distance.