Mexico: Promising potato harvest in Terrenate and Tlaxco

Potato growers in the municipalities of Tlaxco and Terrenate announced that the 2025 spring-summer crop cycle concludes with the highest yields per hectare in the last decade, thanks to the rainfall since April, which ensured optimal crop development.

In Tlaxco’s ejidos, the harvest will begin in late September, while in Terrenate it began in the last week of August. In communities like El Peñón, in Tlaxco , the plants are holding strong with good-sized rainfed tubers.

According to the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development in Tlaxcala (Sader), 500 hectares were planted this year, distributed across 11 municipalities, although the area increased compared to previous seasons. The ejidos of Las Vigas, Atotonilco, Graciano Sánchez, and Maguey Cenizo in Tlaxco account for the largest state production, with 200 hectares, the source reveals.

However, prices have become the biggest obstacle for farmers, as they will barely be able to afford the investment needed to produce.

At the Puebla Central Supply Center , a ton is offered at seven thousand pesos, but on the plot, intermediaries only pay four thousand, and even try to purchase lower-quality produce at two or three pesos per kilo, which is unaffordable compared to the investment required to produce it.

PRODUCERS PROCESS POTATOES TO GET EXTRA

Producers like Dionicio Rodríguez Limón, with 30 years of experience in the Villarreal, Terrenate region , choose to transform potatoes into fries for sale year-round, in order to obtain added value.

When you see the plant loaded with large, healthy potatoes, it makes your heart happy. This year the rain helped us, and the soil responded like it hadn’t in a long time. I’ve been planting here in Villarreal, Terrenate, for more than 30 years, and I’ve rarely seen such a generous rainstorm. Dionicio Rodríguez Limón, producer

However, he explained that "the joy fades when the middlemen arrive. They set the price, not you. A ton in Puebla costs seven thousand pesos, and here on the plot, they barely want to pay four thousand. Even worse: they want to buy the smallest potatoes for two pesos a kilo, when producing them costs much more. There’s no way to sustain ourselves like this . "

He added, "That’s why I decided to transform my harvest. I already have potatoes in the warehouse, ready to fry and sell in grocery stores year-round. This way, I get more value out of them and I don’t depend on coyotes. It’s more work, yes, but it’s also safer."

He revealed that they learn from the fields, because "it’s not just about planting and harvesting. It’s also about finding ways to protect what the land gives us. And this year, although the harvest was good, the challenge is to give a decent outlet to the potatoes we worked so hard to pull from the ground."

PRODUCERS, WITHOUT GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

The state’s paper industry is also facing accumulated problems due to a lack of support, pests, and recent droughts. In 2023, 516 hectares were planted with a yield of 7,000 tons, while this year the area was reduced to 500 hectares and the harvest barely reached 3,500 tons.

Although Tlaxcala doesn’t compete with leading states like Sinaloa, more than 300 families depend directly on this crop in the mountainous soils, and twice as many on indirect jobs, where potatoes provide their livelihood each season.