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Table Grape Production: The Case of
Sonora and California
Carolina Carbajal De Nova
Julio Goicoeche
Abstract
A comparison is made regarding table grape production between two leading
states in Mexico and the United States,
i.e.
, Sonora and California, from 1995 to
2013. Both states share a considerable degree of water scarcity amidst an arid
environment. A gap between Sonora and California in this labor intensive crop
appears almost systematically. The average output of California (830.5 tons) is
over five times larger than in Sonora (159.2 thousand tons). However, output
growth in Sonora has averaged 9.3% annually, versus 4.2% in California. The
production area in California (35.8 thousand hectares) is about 2.6 times larger
than in Sonora (13.5 thousand hectares). The minimum yield registered in
California (18.3 tons/ha) during the period under analysis, is comparable to the
maximum yield achieved by Sonora (18.7 tons/ha), exposing a lagging physical
efficiency. In value terms expressed in dollars of 2013, table grape output in
Sonora is less than one half compared to California. Despite differences in yield,
the value obtained per hectare is, on average, 2.8 times higher in Sonora due to
exceptional high prices. In terms of output, Sonora produces only a fraction of what
is obtained in California. In a nutshell, Sonora lags in efficiency witnessed by low
yields and exceptionally high prices.
Key words:
Table grapes in Sonora and California, output gaps in table grapes
output, irrigated agriculture and table grapes.
1
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (on leave).
2
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.