Mexican papayas are grown in 21 states across Mexico, but three — Chiapas, Veracruz and Oaxaca — represent 55 percent of the total output. Other papaya-producing states include Colima, Guerrero and Michoacan, which combined represent 23 percent of Mexico’s production.

Gustavo Garcia Cuevas, president of the National Papaya Board of Mexico, commonly referred to as ProPapaya, said these states are also in a growing trend.

Members of ProPapaya: Gerardo Orantes Coutiño, Chiapas State Board president; Gustavo García Cuevas, National Papaya Board president; Manuel Maza Maza, Papaya Trade Committee president; Fernando Cárdenas Morales,  Papaya Industry Committee president; Carlos Escalante Méndez, Yucatan State Board president; Armando Vazquez Magallón, Michoacan State Board president; Gonzálo Cervantes Sánchez, Veracruz State Board president; and Felipe Martínez Pérez, Puebla State Board president. (Photos courtesy of ProPapaya and its grower-members)

“These states present the opportunity to have product all year,” said Cuevas. “They complement each other in delivering fruits in different seasons and fulfilling our year-round program.

“Papayas are grown in a lot of countries, but Mexican papayas control the export market,” he continued. “This is primarily because the biggest market is North America, and Mexican papayas are the most important source to that market.”

Cuevas explained that Mexican papaya growers that ship to North America pack papayas with a special paper or mesh that wraps each fruit to avoid bruises. Each papaya is then packed on a box according to its caliber. They are labeled according to U.S. Food & Drug Administration criteria, and they state the brand of each of the firms that participate on international markets.

Mexican papaya exporters have recently created an association called Proexport AC, whose president is Nazario Rodriguez Guerra. This organization gathers all Mexican papaya packers that export and oversees that they fulfill FDA regulations and safety standards.

“This organization is very important to the Mexican papaya industry to ensure its quality and freshness abroad,” noted Cuevas.

“The states in southwest Mexico that produce papayas are enhancing production in terms of applying more technology, better seeds and improving their overall processes in order to deliver better fruit,” said Cuevas. “More than 70,000 people work on papaya production sites throughout the country. This crop, therefore, has a very important social and economic value to a lot of families in Mexico.”

He also believes that tropical fruits will continue to be very popular among consumers because of their organoleptic profiles and the health benefits they provide.

“We believe that fresh fruits and minor processed fruits, such as fresh-cut, will be market enhancers as consumers continue to shift from processed traditional fruits to fresh fruits and, most likely, new flavors,” said Cuevas. “Papayas are being used by consumers in numerous ways today. One strong market driver is that they are being used in smoothies, which is a growing trend.”