Everyone has its own opinion about Yucatán, but these are the facts revealed by INEGI: The economy of that state is already growing more than the one from Querétaro or its always outstanding neighbor, Quintana Roo. In 12 months up to March 2019, Yucatan grew 3.1 percent, a pace comparable only to the always booming state of Nuevo León.
Ernesto Herrera Novelo, secretary of State Economic Development predicts a real growth of 4 percent this year, a much higher figure than the rest of Mexico.
But why is it growing? Who pushes that state until recently asleep with a distant past of henequen glory?
Here’s the interesting thing: there are a lot of factors. The booming real estate business, from the multitude of immigrants coming from Mexico City, Monterrey or Guadalajara, add to that the Canadians… the Americans… or Argentineans who buy houses, and with them, all the growing push of the local Yucatan business sector.
According to the state government, here in the state of Yucatan, the national investment increases at a rate of 60 percent annually and foreign investment 40 percent, here are some examples: Kekén, a company of Kuo, by Fernando Senderos Mestre, invested 10 billion pesos and will add another 6.5 billion pesos in the next two years to produce more pork, especially now that the Chinese have lost most of its pork production due to different illnesses.
The pigs eat the food that is produced by “Proteínas y Oléicos” (Proteins and Oleics) of Yucateco businessman Jacobo Xacur, a local player who also has business interests in the Bajio. He will invest in the growth of his plants to attend Kekén´s needs which already became the state’s largest exporter of this meat. That has pushed primary activities beyond 14 percent… in one year. Grupo Logra will move much of that food and invest 1.8 billion pesos in the port of Progreso.
Mexican immigrants come with payrolls of all sizes, that’s why “Misión Obispado”, a company from Monterrey specialized in building small towers where six or eight small departments fit – will invest 5 billion pesos or a little more than 250 million dollars where no one else did before: In the municipality of Kanasin, a low-income area southeast of Merida´s metropolitan area, where the German auto part company Leoni arrived in this five-year period.
In less than 12 months three shopping malls have opened: Gicsa opened La Isla Mérida; Thor Urbana, The Harbor and one block from Paseo Montejo, Paseo 60, by José Chapur and Víctor Manuel Abraham, where they installed the NH Collection and City Express Plus hotels.
Adding to the aforementioned the manufacturing companies Air Temp, a direct supplier to companies such as Peugeot, BMW and Volkswagen, is currently investing in a design center and Falco is manufacturing Tesla battery parts.
All investments in process will be implemented within 24 months, for a total 18.2 billion pesos. Obviously arriving companies require energy, for which 3,000 megawatts of solar and wind energy are in process, in projects and transmission lines. Besides, a new CFE combined cycle plant of 500 megawatts will be operational in 3 years, according to Secretary Herrera and Manuel Bartlett, CFE director who assure that there is a guarantee of energy supply for the region.
Unemployment is at a low 1.7 percent and on average, last year the Yucateco wages increased 20 percent. And of Yucatan’s most important asset, security, 2.6 billion pesos are being invested with a plan already accepted by the local congress.
Jonathan Ruiz Torre
Parteaguas
El Financiero
“Hunter of business stories and economy knots. Studied Communication in Monterrey and Energy in Houston. He is general director of Special Projects and Regional Editions of El Financiero”.
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