Mexico celebrates International Beer Day as leading brew exporter worldwide

3 August, 2018

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Mexico comes to International Beer Day with much to celebrate, since it is currently the number one country in exports and the fourth producer worldwide. This was said by Maribel Quiroga, Director General of Brewers of Mexico, who shared in a national media conference the strategic importance of this sector.

"We celebrate that Mexico is the first exporter of beer in the world and has been in a sustained manner in the last five years, last year there was an export of around 33 million hectoliters, which represented a growth of 2.8 percent in to 2016," Quiroga said.

According to the official, beer accounts for 23% of the country's agro-industrial exports, "it should be noted that these 33 million hectoliters represent 21% of total beer exports in the world, much higher than exports from the Netherlands (14.4%), Belgium (11%), and Germany with around 10%".

Although Mexico exports beer to 180 countries, the United States receives 81% of shipments, followed by the United Kingdom, with only 3%; China, with 2.3% and Canada with 1.4%.

Quiroga said that it is also worth celebrating that in 2017 the country became the fourth producer of beer worldwide with 105 million hectoliters, a figure that is expected to increase this year to 100 million. China is in the lead with the production of 449 million hectoliters, followed United States with 219 million and Brazil comes third with 129 million.

Mexico has 31 active breweries throughout the country, distributed in Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Baja California, State of Mexico, Mexico City, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Queretaro, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Sonora, Veracruz and Zacatecas.

"In Zacatecas is the largest plant in the world, of Grupo Modelo, so we can say that it is the state, in terms of hectoliters, that produces more beer."

As for the artisanal segment, there are around 600 micro-brewery projects in the country, including those that are made at home.

Baja California is the state with the highest number of craft breweries or microbreweries, followed by Mexico City, Michoacan, Jalisco and Nuevo Leon.

"However, Jalisco is the entity with the highest production of craft beer, thanks to the presence of brands that have gained strength in recent years such as Minerva, Loba and Fortuna," said Quiroga.

The value chain of the beer industry contributes 1% to the National GDP, generates 55,000 direct jobs and according to the INEGI, it is among the 14 most important manufacturing activities in the country.

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