Mexico’s Coffee Industry Expands Amid Rising Demand

Expo Café 2026 brought together consumers and industry professionals in Mexico City, highlighting the growth and transformation of the country’s coffee industry amid rising domestic demand, expanding exports and growing interest in specialty coffee.

The event, held in Mexico City from Sept. 3 to 5, brought together coffee producers, roasters, baristas, coffee shops, companies, buyers, and consumers. The expo takes place at a time of expansion for the industry. Mexico’s coffee market generated US$4.58 billion in revenue in 2024 and is expected to reach US$6.397 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%, according to Grand View Research.

Of the total coffee produced in Mexico, nearly 85% is destined for export markets. This external demand has continued to grow, with INEGI reporting a 91.8% year-over-year increase in exports of unroasted coffee beans in 2025. The United States represents the main buyer, accounting for around 68% of export volume, according to data from Trust Funds for Rural Development (FIRA),  based on the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade). Other key destinations include Belgium, which accounts for 13.6% of exports, followed by Germany at 7.8%, France at 3% and Italy at 2.4%.

The neighboring country consumed 25.4 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee during the 2024/25 marketing year, according to FIRA. Félix Martínez, President, National Association of the Coffee Industry (Anicafe), said this dynamism represents a transformation of Mexico’s coffee industry, which has moved beyond relying exclusively on domestic production and is increasingly generating value through processing, commercialization and exports.

Coffee in the United States

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages among the US population, and meeting this demand depends heavily on imports. Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia are the country’s main suppliers, together accounting for 57% of US coffee imports. Domestic production in the United States accounts for less than 1% of consumption, while the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that the country will import 23.1 million 60kg bags of coffee beans during the 2025/26 marketing year.

According to the National Coffee Association’s 2026 National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) Specialty Coffee Report, 66% of US adults had consumed coffee in the past day at the time of the survey, making it more widely consumed than any other beverage, including tap and bottled water. US coffee drinkers consume an average of 2.8 cups per day, resulting in more than 500 million cups served daily across the country.

At the same time, US consumers are increasingly opting for specialty and more diverse coffee offerings. Specialty coffee accounted for 47% of past-day consumption among US adults in 2026, surpassing traditional coffee at 42%, with younger consumers driving much of this trend. Specialty coffee consumption is particularly strong among adults aged 25 to 39, with 69% reporting that they had consumed specialty coffee in the previous week.

Specialty coffee is associated with beverages such as lattes, espresso, cappuccinos, cold brew, frozen blended coffee and nitro coffee. However, coffee consumption at home is also gaining ground, with 85% of past-day coffee drinkers reporting that they consumed coffee at home, the highest level recorded for this category since 2012. Hybrid work arrangements, economic pressures and improvements in home brewing equipment are contributing to this shift, as newer machines increasingly allow consumers to prepare coffee at home at a quality closer to that of out-of-home offerings.

Mexico’s Domestic Coffee Industry

During the 2024/25 marketing year, Mexican coffee cherry production reached 1.08 million metric tons, up from 1.06 million metric tons in the previous period, representing an increase of just 1.9%, according to data from the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP). Furthermore, according to the latest annual report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, domestic coffee consumption for the 2025/26 season is projected at approximately 3.15 million 60-kilogram bags.

Marcos Gottfried, General Director of Tradex, the company organizing the expo, highlighted the challenge of ensuring that the industry’s expansion translates into greater productivity and profitability for coffee producers. Coffee production in Mexico is currently heavily concentrated in three states: Chiapas, which accounts for 36.5% of national production, Veracruz with 24.8% and Puebla with 21.1%. Together, these three states account for more than 82% of Mexico’s coffee cherry production.

Coffee consumption among the Mexican population remains relatively modest, at between 1.3kg and 1.7kg per capita per year, below the Latin American average. Soluble coffee accounts for 60% of domestic consumption, compared with 40% for ground coffee.

However, specialists point to a growing preference for coffee among Mexican consumers, reflected in the increasing number of coffee shops that have become gathering places for a wide range of social and professional activities.

Market research firm Technavio forecasts that Mexico’s coffee market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% between 2025 and 2029, with its size expected to increase by approximately US$1.08 billion over that period. The consultancy identifies several drivers behind this growth, including growing interest in coffee among younger consumers, rising demand for organic products and increasing interest in higher-quality options.

Mexico City alone has nearly 10,000 establishments classified as coffee shops, Gottfried underscored. He noted that the market has experienced accelerated growth of 7% in recent years, with the Cuauhtemoc borough recording the highest concentration at 1,557 coffee shops, followed by Benito Juarez with 1,499. The business executive said he expects the number of visitors to the expo to increase by 40% this year.