Constructing agro-industrial clusters or disembedding of the territory? lessons from Sinaloa as the leading horticultural export-oriented region of Mexico

Abstract

The long-term growth of horticultural exports from Sinaloa, Mexico, mainly to the United States, as well as the region's ranking as the most important area in Mexico in the production of fresh vegetables for foreign markets, leads us to question the regional impact of horticulture. Various methods can be used to perform such an assessment. One method examines the level of development of an agro-industrial cluster centered on horticultural production for export. Several cases in other regions show that clusters usually become powerful engines for the development of those regions, particularly those deeply embedded in the current economic globalization. The aim of this paper is an assessment of Sinaloa's experience to investigate whether an agro-industrial cluster centered on export-oriented horticulture exists, and if one exists, how developed the cluster is. Therefore, for the Sinaloa case, each component of a cluster is analyzed, according to the literature on this topic. The outcomes of this research show that although some attempts have been made to create a cluster, those attempts failed, and the cluster is incomplete and stagnant. Therefore I call Sinaloa a disembedded territory. © Carlos J. Maya-Ambía.