Milk Producers Want to Increase Dairy Exports in Central America

The National Chamber of Milk Manufacturers (CANILEC) asked to expand Mexico’s agri-trade agreements with Central America to increase the sale of national dairy products in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador.

According to data from CANILEC, the marketing of milk and dairy derivatives ranks fourth in the national food industry GDP. In 2022, Mexico exported more than US$853 million worth of dairy products to the US and Central America. "Currently half of Mexico’s dairy exports are baby formulas. In fact, Mexico leads the international market for this product. The remaining 50% corresponds almost entirely to cheese and yogurt,” said René Fonseca, Director General, CANILEC. At a national scale, Jalisco, Coahuila, Durango and Chihuahua are responsible for 50% of domestic milk production.

Fonseca highlighted that the US “nostalgic market” is also an important source of income for the Mexican dairy industry. “These kinds of customers mostly buy very typical cheeses like panela or manchego,” he said.

On the other hand, in 2022 imports of dairy products accounted for US$3.3 billion, which represented a trade deficit of US$2.5 billion. “About 70% of the dairy products we consume in Mexico come from the domestic market, while the remaining 30% are purchased from abroad,” Fonseca stated. The Director stressed that to boost sales of dairy products in the international market, it is necessary to expand Mexico’s trade agreements with Central America.

According to Fonseca, toward the future, the main challenge for the dairy industry will be to increase the per capita consumption of dairy products in the country. In this regard, Mary Ledman, Global Dairy Strategist at Rabobank, a Dutch banking and financial services company, underscored that to increase industry performance and intake volume, it is necessary to promote public access to dairy products, through strategies such as e-commerce. “The sector must focus on creating new products and presentations that are attractive to different social sectors,” she said.