Mexico Sep. 21 (Notimex).- Mexico strengthened its leadership as an exporter of alcoholic beverages during the last Beverage and Distillate Business Round 2018, exceeding 20 million dollars in sales, with 29 international buyers.
“This gives us an idea of how important this agri-food subsector is in our country,” commented ProMéxico’s CEO, Paulo Carreño King, after two days of business meetings in Durango.
He noted that in that entity 110 Mexican entrepreneurs of spirits – beer, rum, wine, tequila, mezcal, sotol, tequila, pulque, root and bacanora, among others – met to promote the exports of their products, many of them with recognition of denomination of origin.
In an interview with Notimex said that the goal was achieved in this fifth edition of the meeting, as small and medium producers managed to strengthen commercial ties with a greater number of non-traditional markets.
“Not only was more terrain gained in Canada and the United States, but also in 12 countries in Europe, Europe and Asia,” through buyers from China, Indonesia, South Korea, Germany, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
In this regard, he said that with the representatives of those nations, 800 business appointments were made during the past two days and, therefore, the expectation of 10 million dollars of sales was exceeded, that is, it doubled to the first cut done yesterday.
“We want to do that: position Mexican beverages and spirits and attract more foreign investment,” insisted Carreño King, stressing that with these products an independent sector will soon be formed.
“It is still a sub-sector of the agri-food sector, but it is destined to become a sector in itself, due to the 10 percent growth it has shown,” he argued.
It is estimated that beverage and distillate exports increased up to 17 percent from January to May 2018.
He even recalled that Mexico has managed to position itself as the number one exporter of beer worldwide, the main exporter of alcoholic beverages in Latin America and the sixth worldwide.
Only last year attracted more than 1,200 million dollars of foreign direct investment in this sector, while the Gross Domestic Producer (GDP) of the industry has doubled in the last 10 years.
