MEXICO CITY, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A senior official from a leading farm state in Mexico said Sunday that the country should work to boost its agrifood exports to Asia.

Currently Mexico's agrifood exports to Asia account for just 5 percent of the total, said Hector Padilla, secretary of rural development for western Jalisco state, citing a recent report by the Chamber of Deputies' Study Center for Sustainable Rural Development and Food Sovereignty.

Asian agricultural goods account for just 3 percent of Mexico's total food imports, leading to a surplus of 707 million U.S. dollars, said Padilla, also former president of the Mexican Association of Secretaries of Agricultural Development.

In recent months, there has been an uptick in sales abroad, mainly to Japan and South Korea, as well as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, said Padilla.

Mexico buys cinnamon and pepper from Asia, while exporting mostly pork, avocados and beer, which represent 52 percent of sales to the region.

Jalisco supplies some 17 percent of the country's agrifood exports.