Acting Consul General Jose Alberto Limas Gutierrez. ZOU ZHONGPIN / CHINA DAILY

Mexico wants Chinese consumers to drink more tequila as the consulate general of Mexico in Guangzhou plans to hold events for promoting of the liquor in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Zhuhai in Guangdong province, and Xiamen in Fujian province this year.

Promotions of Corona beer will be staged in Guangdong and Hainan provinces, said Acting Consul General Jose Alberto Limas Gutierrez.

With trade of electronic products between the two countries robust, the Mexican government is now pushing food and beverage exports to China, he said.

"Mexico has a strong food and beverage industry and exports a lot of liquor, beer, meat, fruits and vegetables."

The Chinese market will become open to Mexican beef very soon and the two sides are working on the access of dairy products, including baby formula to China, he said.

Sale of tequila, blackberries and raspberries were allowed in the Chinese market at the end of last year.

Mexico Food Connection established an office in Shanghai more than two years ago at the increasing demand from Chinese importers of Mexican fruits.

The company mainly sells red globe grapes and Hass avocados to China, and is starting to export blackberries and raspberries, said Lic Roxana Quirarte Murguia, consultant for Chinese market with the company.

The company sold 400 tons of red globe grapes in the past two seasons and more than 1,000 tons of Hass avocados in the last season. It is exporting five pallets of blackberries and raspberries by air to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou per week.

"We are looking forward to introduce new table grapes to the Chinese market and increase the consumption of red globe grapes," Murguia said.

"We think the business will continue growing. China is a huge market and as people get more aware of the fruits we export and introduce them as part of their diet, the consumption will increase. We have seen this happening recently with the avocado.

"Berries are very popular in China, and Mexico has one of the biggest productions of raspberries and blackberries in the world.

"Mexican government and related associations will start doing some advertisement and promotions in China. This will also help increase the demand."

"Our main challenge is to position Mexican products highly in the eyes of the consumer. We are tapping into an unprecedented market opportunity," Murguia said.

Recognizing a lack of knowledge on both sides of the other's market, the consulate is promoting the information about China to Mexican exporters, Gutierrez said.

The consulate is sponsoring a Mexico food festival in Guangzhou in Guangdong and Sanya in Hainan not just for food and culture but also to promote Mexican food materials and tourism.

Meanwhile, the trade of electronic products has been the most successful in the bilateral trade and it is expected to continue, Gutierrez said.

The exports of integrated circuits from Mexico to Guangdong province, which is the largest provincial economy and manufacturing hub in China, surged 60 percent year-on-year to $800 million last year, and those of computers and parts went up by 540 percent to $300 million.

Guangdong last year sold $900 million worth of LCD screens to Mexico, which is the world's largest producer of flat-screen TV sets, Gutierrez said.

Wang Zijia contributed to this story

liwenfang@chinadaily.com.cn