Mexico enters the top 10 world agri-food, exporters

5402

For the first time, our country is on the list of the largest global sellers of agricultural and agroindustrial goods, displacing Argentina; Beer, avocado, tomato, tequila, cookies and berries, the most successful products.

For the first time, Mexico entered the ranking of the 10 largest export economies of agrifood products, according to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In 2018, Mexican exports of these products added a customs value of 35,000 million dollars, and thus displaced those made by Argentina, which was left out of this group.

In the past year, the seven main exporters of agroindustrial products remained unchanged, led by the European Union, the United States and Brazil. India rose to eighth place and Australia went down to ninth.

China (9%), Brazil (6%) and Mexico (6%) registered the largest increases in exports of agricultural products among the top 10 exporters, while Australia (-10%) and Indonesia (7%) experienced declines.

Australia’s biggest falls were for wheat (-34%) and barley (-13 percent). Indonesia had a decrease in exports of animal or vegetable fats (-11%) and rubber and related items (-18 percent).

In the past year, Mexico mainly exported avocados (2,392 million dollars), tomatoes (2,261 million), fruits of the capsicum or pimenta (1,158 million), beef (1,073 million), red fruits or berries (927 million) , nuts (769 million), live animals (758 million), citrus fruits (597 million), pork (536 million) and cucumbers (521 million). From another angle, the Ministry of Economy reported Monday that trade in agri-food products has shown dynamism in North America.

“The diversity of ecosystems and climates in our countries has allowed Mexican, American and Canadian consumers to have broader choices of high-quality fresh produce, animal proteins, and processed foods throughout the year and at affordable prices,” he said in a statement.

In 2018, Mexico traded agri-food products with the world for an amount of $ 64.5 billion.

Particularly, Mexican trade in this sector with the United States and Canada reached in that year an amount of 50,700 million dollars, which represented 78.5% of the total traded. Of the purchases in the sector, the United States concentrated the first place, accumulating 77.5% of the total value of trade. The Ministry of Economy stressed that Mexico is the second market for agri-food exports in the United States, whose sales totaled $ 19.6 billion in the past year.

In turn, Mexico is the main supplier of agricultural products to the United States, with $ 29.1 billion in 2018.

United States exports are concentrated in grains, meat, and oilseeds, which represents 54% of agricultural exports to Mexico. For example, yellow corn, soybeans, wheat, beef, pork, and poultry stand out.

Finally, Mexico’s agri-food sector went from registering a structural trade deficit with the United States and Canada in 1993 to a growing surplus, which in 2018 stood at 7.3 billion dollars (from 8.1 billion dollars that Mexico obtained from a positive balance in that same year in its global trade).

Source: el economista

The Mazatlan Post