Response of economic indicators of guava (Psidium guajava L.) production to public policies: Mexico

Abstract

Objective: to estimate the profitability, competitiveness, and efficiency of guava production in Mexico, in order to identify whether agricultural public policies have enhanced or reduced its economic performance.

Design/methodology/approach: the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) was employed as the main methodological tool, complemented by the Relative Economic Competitiveness Index. Private production prices and costs were obtained from guava-producing states in Mexico (SIAP, 2025). For each production system, information was collected on planted, harvested, and damaged area; production volume and value; production system type (irrigated or rainfed); production units; yields; agricultural wages; and relative market prices.

Results: at private prices, 98.45% of guava production was profitable and 94.75% was competitive; when assessed at social prices, these indicators decreased by 4.35% and 2.85%, respectively. Additionally, 92.88% of production exhibited comparative advantages, concentrated in 6.25% of guava-producing states. In 93.75% of state-level production systems, agricultural policy proved essential to sustaining guava production; in contrast, in Michoacán and Aguascalientes, policy interventions were not decisive. Guava production displayed favorable relative competitiveness for investors, though not from a social perspective.

Findings/conclusions: guava production in Mexico exhibited high levels of profitability and competitiveness at both private and social prices. Comparative advantages were identified only in the production systems of Aguascalientes and Michoacán. Overall, agricultural public policies contributed to enhancing the profitability, competitiveness, and efficiency of guava cultivation, particularly in states with rainfed production systems.