Rocha pears

Mexico has become the latest country to grant access to Rocha pears, bringing the total number of export markets for the Portuguese variety to six.

The Portuguese government announced that a 40-tonne shipment would be sent to Mexico this week.

“Mexico is one of the most important markets in the Americas, with about 128m consumers,” the government said in a statement.

Portuguese fruit and vegetable exports grew 15 per cent in 2017 to €1.5bn. Luís Medeiros, Secretary of State for Agriculture and Food, hailed the results as “a remarkable performance reflecting the strength and optimism of the industry”.