New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte has joined a delegation of businesses, organizations and officials from 10 other State Departments of Agriculture, on a 4 day trade mission to New Delhi, India to promote U.S. agricultural products.
India is home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s population with 1.4 billion people.
Led by the US Department of Agriculture under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Affairs Alexis Taylor, the trade mission is part of USDA’s efforts to leverage its global reach to open new markets on behalf of American food and agricultural producers.
The 47 organizations and agricultural businesses represented on the trip will participate in business-to-business meetings with potential buyers from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Participants will visit retail sites in and around New Delhi, the capital city of India and the second most-populated metropolis in the world.
Witte said, “We are joined on this mission by pecan growers and shellers who see India as an important market with tremendous potential growth. Pecans are known for their health benefits and processors in India’s snack food industry are excited about working with the U.S. pecan industry to increase their opportunities in using this highly desired source of protein.”
In advance of this trade mission, Secretary Witte, New Mexico Department of Agriculture marketing staff and members of New Mexico’s agriculture industry hosted an inbound trade mission in January for a contingent from India, which included tours of pecan orchards and pecan processing centers in the Las Cruces area.
Witte said, “New Mexico is the second largest producer of pecans in the United States. India recently lowered the tariff on pecans imported from the United States, therefore this trade mission provides an important opportunity to develop relationships in India and forge partnerships that can benefit growers in our state.”
In 2023, New Mexico produced 100 million pounds of pecans, representing a 20 percent increase. In 2022, U.S. agricultural exports to India, Nepal and Sri Lanka totaled more than $2.5 billion.
