World trends driving horticulture expansion in emerging economies

World agriculture has been undergoing a quiet revolution in the past 20 years. A number of important factors have driven this revolution. As population growth has gradually decreased and incomes have improved there has been a decline in the growth of cereal production and a rapid rise in horticultural crops production. From 1985 to 1995 world cereal output increased by 6 percent while vegetables and melons jumped by 47 percent and fruit and berries expanded by 25 percent. Ornamental production also grew rapidly. The worldwide move toward free market policies, reduced trade barriers and free trade agreements have produced a rapid expansion in horticultural product trade. Other factors driving the expansion of horticultural crops are constant product improvement through breeding and tissue culture reproduction, lower real product costs and year-round availability. Delivered product costs have been reduced through lower cost shipping, reduction in spoilage through improved cold chain management and integrated supply chain management by rapidly expanding mass retail merchandising multinational companies. With rising demand for year-round supply in industrialized and newly industrializing countries, there has been a rapid expansion of production in countries that can supply product during winter months in the northern hemisphere. Emerging economies have benefited and others will benefit from these trends. Producers and exporters in emerging economies often have the advantage of lower cost and greater availability of labor, land and water and in some cases lower shipping costs due to location near major consuming nations. Rapid expansion in trade has also been related to diversification of consumer diets. with organics and new products like kiwi, mango, and avocado. There is also a growing trend toward rapid replacement of older varieties of traditional fruits with new improved and branded products. These trends enhance the demand for well-trained horticulture industry managers, and for research and outreach programs, especially in emerging economies.