The Wild Orchid Trade in a Mexican Local Market: Diversity and Economics

In developing countries, the sustainable management of non-timber forest products (NTFP) is promoted as a means to generate benefits in indigenous communities, alleviate poverty, and guarantee forest conservation. However, it is largely unknown whether this practice meets local economic needs. In Mexico, orchids are one of the most widely traded NTFP in local markets, but studies generally only provide lists of the species for sale. We obtained data for orchid richness and abundance from 56 sellers in a Mexican local market over one year. We related sellers' economic status to certain socioeconomic variables and determined possible relationships between orchid prices and abundance. Thirty-seven orchid species were recorded; an estimated 18,740 units were offered for sale, most of them harvested in surrounding forests. The greatest abundance of orchids for sale was recorded in October-December, whereas the greatest richness was found in March-April. The ages of the sellers ranged from 14-70 years, 78.5% were women, 50% had either no formal schooling or did not finish elementary school, and 54% spoke an indigenous language. The orchid trade was not the sellers' main economic activity: to supplement their incomes they traded either agricultural products or other NTFP. Age and speaking an indigenous language were correlated positively with seller poverty and negatively with income obtained in a single sale day. Orchid price had a low, negative relationship with abundance in the market. Mexican law punishes the illegal wildlife trade, but this practice is allowed (at least) at the local level because orchid extraction and trade is a traditional use and custom in the local indigenous community.