Mexico‘s processed food exports broke records in 2022, growing 23.7% year-on-year and totaling 15.598 billion dollars, according to Inegi data.
Compared to a decade ago, 2012, these foreign sales grew 134%, from 6,677 million dollars.
Mexico is competitive in the food industry because it has a broad and diversified production base of agricultural raw materials, because of its domestic market of 130 million inhabitants and because of its export profile, which benefits from its proximity to the United States.
Food industry exports accounted for 4% of Mexico’s total foreign sales in the manufacturing industry in 2022.
Exports of these products to the United States totaled 12.737 billion dollars last year and 5.758 billion dollars from January to May of this year, in both cases reaching an all-time high.
Mexico is the second largest source of U.S. imports of processed foods, surpassed by Canada, whose corresponding amount was 12,277 million dollars in the first five months of this year.
From around the world, U.S. food industry imports totaled $43.334 billion from January through May 2023, up 1% from the same period a year earlier, according to Commerce Department figures.
Food exports
Within the subsector, Mexican exports of the fruit, vegetable, stews and other prepared food preservation industry to the United States increased 3.2% in the first five months of 2023, to 1.383 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, Mexican exports of the sugar, chocolate, candy and similar products manufacturing industry amounted to 1.27 billion dollars to the same destination, an annual increase of 11.6%.
In contrast, in the same direction, foreign sales of the slaughtering, packaging and processing of livestock, poultry and other edible animals fell 17.1% at an annual rate, to 892 million dollars.
Another outstanding item was bakery and tortilla products, with 841 million dollars and a year-on-year advance of 22 percent.
In addition, there were the following results: grain and seed milling and obtaining oils and fats (425 million dollars, +16.5%), dairy product processing (129 million, +28.7%), preparation and packaging of fish and seafood (42 million, +9.1%) and animal food processing (35 million, -3%).
