The Ministry of Economy recommended large mining companies to produce copper cables in Mexico.
This opportunity arises because copper is produced in Mexico, but copper cables are imported.
In 2023, Mexican exports of copper and its manufactures were 2,461 million dollars, while imports totaled 4,834 million dollars.
To encourage this import substitution, Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy, said that officials have spoken with directors of mining companies in Mexico, giving Peñoles as an example.
“Why send copper to China and then import it as cable? Let’s produce the cable here, in Mexico,” he suggested on Tuesday at a seminar organized by the Colegio de México.
Mining companies
Mexico produced 699,118 tons of copper in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%, according to Inegi data.
By company, Grupo Mexico led this production, with a 76.8% share, followed by Nemisa, Invecture Group, Capstone Copper and Industrias Peñoles, according to a report by the Mining Chamber of Mexico (Camimex).
“This is a very simple example to tell you that there are many coordination issues, or that can be generated from our government, to do more things and generate commitments in our local market,” Gutiérrez added.
International trade
Below are the statistics of Mexican imports of copper and its manufactures to the world in 2023, in millions of dollars:
- United States: 3,074.
- Peru: 429.
- Chile: 391.
- China: 251.
- Germany: 172.
- World: 4,834.
At the same time, the Mexican government is conducting analyses on the decline in China’s share of total U.S. imports of products and the corresponding competitiveness of Mexican exports.
This is the trend of Mexican exports of copper and its manufactures to the world in 2023, in millions of dollars:
- United States: 1,001.
- China: 465.
- South Korea: 220.
- Panama: 73.
- Honduras: 56.
- World: 2,461.
The Mexican government intends to strengthen the production chains of its main manufacturing industries by increasing their domestic content.