Editing Economy of Mexico (section)

==== Crops ====
In spite of corn being a staple in the Mexican diet, Mexico's comparative advantage in agriculture is not in [[Maize|corn]], but in [[horticulture]], tropical fruits, and vegetables. Negotiators of NAFTA expected that through liberalization and mechanization of agriculture, two-thirds of Mexican corn producers would naturally shift from corn production to horticultural and other labor-intensive crops such as fruits, nuts, vegetables, coffee, and [[sugar cane]].<ref name="nadal">{{Cite book  | last1 = Nadal| first1 =A. | contribution = Zea Mays: Effects of Trade Liberalization of Mexico's Corn Sector|editor-last=Deere | editor-first=C.L. | title = Greening the Americas | publisher=MIT Press, Cambridge, MA | isbn=0-262-54138-6| year = 2002  }}</ref> While horticultural trade has drastically increased due to NAFTA, it has not absorbed displaced workers from corn production (estimated at 600,000).<ref name="USDA"/> Corn production has remained stable (at 20 million [[metric ton]]s), arguably as a result of income support to farmers or a reluctance to abandon a millenarian tradition in Mexico: not only have peasants grown corn for millennia; corn originated in Mexico. Mexico is the seventh largest corn producer in the world.<ref name="FAO">{{cite web |url=http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/Q/QC/S |access-date=September 1, 2015 |title=Faostat |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904001846/http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/Q/QC/S |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===== Potatoes =====
The area dedicated to potatoes has changed little since 1980 and average yields have almost tripled since 1961. Production reached a record 1.7&nbsp;million tonnes in 2003. Per capita consumption of potato in Mexico stands at 17&nbsp;kg a year, very low compared to its maize intake of 400&nbsp;kg.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.potato2008.org/en/world/latinamerica.html |title=Potato world: Latin America – International Year of the Potato 2008 |publisher=Potato2008.org |access-date=April 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911235146/http://www.potato2008.org/en/world/latinamerica.html |archive-date=September 11, 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> On average, potato farms in Mexico are larger than those devoted to more basic food crops. Potato production in Mexico is mostly for commercial purposes; the production for household consumption is very small.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isaaa.org/Resources/Publications/briefs/07/default.html |title=ISAAA Website |publisher=Isaaa.org |access-date=April 16, 2011 |archive-date=April 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412123237/http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/07/default.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===== Avocado =====
[[File:Criollo_avocados_de_Oaxaca.png|thumb|right|200px|Mexico is the world's leading producer of [[avocados]] as of 2020, supplying nearly 30% of the global harvest in that year.]]
Mexico is the world's largest [[avocado]] growing country, producing several times more than the second largest producer. In 2013, the total area dedicated to avocado production was {{convert|188,723|ha|acre|abbr=off}}, and the harvest was 2.03 million tonnes in 2017. The state that produces the most is Michoacán, which produces nearly 75% of all Mexican avocados.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shortell |first1=David |title=As cartels take a stake in 'green gold,' US and Mexico rethink how avocados reach American kitchens |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/13/americas/avocado-cartel-us-mexico-intl-latam/ |website=CNN |access-date=August 13, 2024 |language=en |quote=Nearly three-quarters of Mexican avocados come from Michoacán,|date=July 13, 2024}}</ref>

===== Sugar cane =====
Approximately 160,000 medium-sized farmers grow sugar cane in 15 Mexican states; currently there are 54 [[sugar mill]]s around the country that produced 4.96&nbsp;million tons of sugar in the 2010 crop, compared to 5.8&nbsp;million tons in 2001.<ref>Sugar HJournal, December 2009</ref> Mexico's sugar industry is characterized by high production costs and lack of investment. Mexico produces more sugar than it consumes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Mica |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20071211-1327-mexico-sugar-.html |title=Mexican sugar industry anxious ahead NAFTA opening |publisher=SignOnSanDiego.com |date=December 11, 2009 |access-date=April 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221003659/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20071211-1327-mexico-sugar-.html |archive-date=February 21, 2009  }}</ref> Sugar cane is grown on 700,000 farms in Mexico with a yield of 72 metric tons per farm.<ref>Sugar Journal May 2009</ref>