From melon patch to market place : how they learned to export a non-traditional crop

Melon exports rose tenfold between 1982 and 1989, from US$3 to US$30 million. The projected 89/90 winter season plantings indicated that melon exports were likely to reach US$40-50 million. Yet attempts to grow melons in the Central American region for export to the U.S. can be traced back to the early 1960s, long before the U.S. Agency for International Development (A.I.D.) launched its non-traditional agricultural export (NTAE) initiative in the region. How did Central America"s melon export industry develop and what role, if any, has A.I.D."s NTAE support initiative played in the industry"s development? This study, in attempting to identify the factors underlying the success of Central America"s melon export industry, attempts to answer this question. The study reviews the evolution since the early 1960s of the export melon industry in Central America, and how entrepreneurs in three Central American countries (Honduras, Guatemala, and Costa Rica) learned to export melons. This NTAE crop was chosen for study because it provides a case of a successful export industry that could be studied across countries that varied in their degree of success in exporting melons and the rate at which this success was obtained. The study is based on interviews with more than 20 entrepreneurs who have had varying success exporting melons. (Author abstract)