This week a delegation of California organic companies traveled to Guadalajara and Mexico City to meet with foreign buyers and learn about market opportunities for organic products. California is the nation’s largest agricultural producer of organic products, and Mexico imported more than $234 million in U.S. organic products in 2023.
CDFA partnered with California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) to help facilitate the trip.
The visit included meetings with U.S. and Mexican government officials, a CCOF-hosted seminar on marketing and organic certification, and direct business meetings with importers and distributors. The delegation also visited retail and wholesale markets to observe organic sale channels.
Delegation participants included: Joshua Tamayo, Taylor Farms; Byron Albano, Cuyama Orchards; Cris Cherry, Villa Creek; Vernon Peterson, Abundant Harvest Organics; Lily Nugent, Coke Farm; Thaddeus Barsotti, Creekside Organics; Steve Koretoff; Purity Organics; Hilary Graves, Booker Vineyard; Ann Weight, Frey Vineyards; Zoubeida Zajac, Powicana Farms; Kelly Damewood, CCOF; Felipe Sandoval, CCOF, and Phil LaRocca, LaRocca Vineyards.
“Funding for this trade mission was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant 21SCBGPCA110. It’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.”