Guerrero - Economy

Economy

Agricultural production is mostly of basic staple crops such as corn, rice and beans along with tomatoes, tomatillos, okra, green chili peppers, chickpeas, soybeans, yams, and other vegetables. Commercial crops include coffee, hibiscus, sugar cane, sesame seed, peanuts and sorghum. A number of fruits are grown for both domestic consumption and market such as melons, papaya, watermelon, mangos, bananas, tamarind and citrus.

The state has large forests with logging potential, although most are ejido or other community property. Most of the loggable timber is pine.

Fishing is an important industry for the state with livestock raised is limited due to poor pastures due to overgrazing. They include cattle, pigs, goats and sheep as well as some domestic fowl. The long coast is important for fishing which support 55 fishing communities. The main fishing ports are Petacalco, Zihuatanejo, Acapulco, Barra de Tecoanapa and Puna Maldonado. Commercial fishing brings in shark, sailfish, sierra, sea bass, mojarra, lobster, shrimp, clams and many other species.

The mountains in the interior of the state have mineral deposits, such as gold and lead as well as iron. The latter is found mostly along the Balsas River.

Tourism is the most important sector of the state’s commerce. Tourism in Guerrero is important to the overall Mexican economy as well. It is the main source of the state’s economic development.

The main employment generators of the state are service industry (28.2% of workers), commerce, restaurants and hotels (25.1%), financial services and real estate (13.4) and manufacturing (12.2%).

However, due to the lack of employment and the general lack of education of many in Guerrero, the state ranks number one in the number of migrants that head to the United States to work. It is estimated that each year 73,000 head north to live permanently with another 128,000 who migrate each year during the dry season. It is also estimated what somewhere between one quarter and one third of Guerrero’s population lives in the United States, with about 300,000 in the Chicago area alone. The phenomenon has left many villages with no men and women taking up most of the work such as farming, crafts and petty commerce.