Yucatan was the state with the highest industrial growth in Mexico in February 2016, said the head of the Ministry of Economic Development (Sefoe) Ernesto Herrera Novelo, during the seventh Business Economic Forum of the Mexican Financial Executives Institute (IMEF) 2016. The conference in Merida was titled, “Generating Strategies for investment”.
The official explained that according to the Monthly Indicator of Industrial Activity by State, Yucatan grew 12.07% in industrial activity in February, which places it at the head of other states and above the 2.6% national average, based on data published last June 7.
In a panel discussion, Herrera Novelo stated that one of the key strategies in the commitment of the State Government for reindustrialization, was to focus on areas that were economically depressed like the Uman-Celestun road or the region of Tekax municipality, which now look completely different.
Jobs and opportinuties are being created in these regions thanks to investments from Kekén and Bachoco, respectively. Optimally, people can develop and work in their communities and avoid the high costs of migrating to the capital, which is possible only by creating jobs and opportunities, he said.
Accompanied bu the president of the Copafmex Merida, Gustavo Cisneros Buenfil, and businessman Juan Manuel Ponce Días, the head of Sefoe shared that according to the aforementioned indicator, manufacturing industry, which accounts for more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GPB) of the secondary sector, grew by 15.25%.
Electricity, gas, and water services increased by 19.39 percent; mining increased by 4.61%, and finally, the construction sector, which experienced a decline during the previous months, showed noticeable recovery in 6.48%.
In his turn, the president of the Coparmex Merida stated that “the challenge we have as a state is to increase productivity that brings better wages, and that’s being promoted in the programs by the Secretariat; such as better paid and more technical jobs, and in sectors that generate much higher productivity per employee and that, in turn, will benefit the domestic market. We will have a much more robust market as a business sector.”
Officials discussed Yucatan’s industrial growth at a conference in Merida this week. (PHOTO: courtesy SEFOE)
After presenting data on the manufacturing industry of the territory from 2003 to 2013, the Center for Competitiveness of Yucatán (CCY)’s Cisneros Buenfil acknowledged that “there is a very agressive and exciting growth in certain sectors which are being promoted by the Government”.
“What is happening in the industry of Yucatán? It is a 11.8 percent rebound in manufacturing industry in 2015 compared to 2014, and has come full circle,” he said.
He added that they are beginning to see the results, they have not yet reflected fully in jobs and injecting resources due to a lag that has Mexico on the information generated by the National Institute of Statistics and Geograpy (INEGI).
“People who are in Yucatan is investing more and are reaching other investments. Yucatan is turning its comparative advantages into competitive”, he exclaimed.
He explained that while in the past all expectations were put on the arrival of large firms such as a shipbuilder, now what’s being done is to bring various sectors, according to the advantages of the state, and thereby open opportunities for other industrial and service providers.
He called for “local business to integrate the growth that is taking place with outside groups”.
“What is happening is only the beginning, more investments are on the way”, said the president of the Coparmex, to a large group of executives who attended the Forum IMEF.
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