The 10 largest companies in the food industry in Mexico in 2021, measured by revenue, were: Grupo Bimbo, Sigma Alimentos, Gruma, Pepsico Alimentos México, Grupo Lala, Industrias Bachoco, Nestlé México, SuKarne, Pilgrim’s Pride México and Grupo Herdez.
Their revenues were as follows: Grupo Bimbo (348.88 billion pesos), Sigma Alimentos (138.31 billion pesos), Gruma (94.25 billion pesos), Pepsico Alimentos México (87.46 billion pesos) and Grupo Lala (81.94 billion pesos).
In addition, the results of the rest of the companies were as follows: Industrias Bachoco (81.7 billion), Nestlé México (74.2 billion), SuKarne (64.9 billion), Pilgrim’s Pride México (35.07 billion) and Grupo Herdez (26.15 billion).
On the other hand, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mexico is the second largest export market for U.S. agricultural products and remains a strong and consistent partner, representing one of the largest consumer markets in the world for U.S. products.
Overall, Mexico’s largest trading partner by far is the United States, which imports 80% of all Mexican exports and provides Mexico with 50% of its total imports.
Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented in 1994, total U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico increased from $4.7 billion to $28.5 billion in 2022.
In 2022, the United States exported $8.2 billion in processed foods to Mexico.
Food Industry
The top five exports were dairy products, food preparations, syrups and sweeteners, processed meats, fats and oils.
Conversely, Mexico’s processed food imports in 2022 were worth $21.3 billion.3 Mexico’s top five imports were alcoholic beverages, snacks, chocolate and confectionery, non-alcoholic beverages, and processed fruits.
The Mexican economy recorded 3% growth in 2022, driven mainly by exports, foreign direct investment and remittances.
In 2022, supermarkets benefited from the return to physical stores as pandemic-related health restrictions were lifted.
Supermarkets adopted an omnichannel structure by having physical stores, online stores and partnering with delivery apps.
According to the National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH) conducted every two years, in 2020 Mexicans spent 11,380 pesos ($620) quarterly on food and beverages.
The 2020 survey5 showed that the most consumed foods in the household are meats, cereals, vegetables, food preparations and dairy products.