Mexico’s Trade Balance Hits Highest Point in 29 Years

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) announced that Mexico’s agricultural and food trade balance between January and May 2021 surpassed US$4 billion. That period, the country exported US$18.72 billion in agricultural and agro-industrial products and imported US$14.49 billion. This is the highest surplus registered in the last 29 years of agri-food exports.

In a press release, SADER reports that the products with the highest demand abroad were beer (US$2.19 billion), avocado (US$1.32 billion), tequila and mezcal (US$1.15 billion), tomato (US$1.12 billion) and pepper (US$817 million). A significant part of this achievement is thanks to the agricultural and fishing balance, with exports representing US$9,04 billion and imports US$7.22 billion. This US$1.82 billion surplus in the agricultural and fishing balance also represents an annual growth of 17.5 percent. The beverage sector presented the greatest dynamism during January-May 2021, with a positive variation of 30.8 percent compared to the previous year. In the sector of agroindustrial products, the greatest increases were seen in meat and poultry offal with 156.4 percent, soybean oil with 75.4 percent, soups, stews or broths with 55 percent, waters and soft drinks with 44.2 percent, frozen orange juice with 40.8 percent, tequila and mezcal with 30.6 percent and malt beer with 29.9 percent. More than 55 percent of imports from January to May were concentrated in four groups: cereals with 21 percent, oil seeds and oleaginous fruits with 15 percent, meat with 14 percent, and dairy and other products of animal origin with 6 percent. SADER also highlighted its programs to develop and expand export opportunities so they are available to small-scale Mexican producers, including recent treaties and agreements with France and Belize. In the case of France, SADER seeks to bring to Mexico relevant business practices, while the alliance with Belize aims to strengthen ties with the Central American and Caribbean countries. Mexico, however, has failed to comply with the obligations it agreed to in the USMCA regarding oceans and fishing. If the country fails to take urgent measures to address this problem, it could lose out on future opportunities offered by the USMCA, as previously mentioned in an MBN article.