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MEXICO
Trade Profile
Mexico Trade
Profile
Overview
Mexico is a Representative Republic, Democratic, Federal, composed of 32 free and sovereign states in
all matters relating to their internal government, but united in a Federation. Until last year Mexico City
was just a Federal District, now is in the process to be a new state.
Mexico official name is United Mexican States; the official language is the Spanish and has over 66
Indian languages. The currency is the Mexican Peso; it most important religion is Catholicism.
This is a critical time for Mexico’s public finances. A steep decline in oil prices has diminished fiscal
revenues, and current projections indicate that prices will remain low over the near term. Meanwhile, a
combination of policy decisions, legal and constitutional obligations, and the complex exogenous
pressures generated by an aging population is driving a long-term structural shift in the size and
composition public spending.
Governance
Mexico is a Democratic Federation.
Form of state
Political division of Mexico consists of 32 states: Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur,
Campeche, Coahuila, Colima, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Mexico City, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo,
Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo,
San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán, and Zacatecas.
Legal system
Based on the 1917 Constitution
National legislature
Mexico has a General Congress, which is divided in two Chambers, one of them has 500 deputies and
the other 128 senators.
It is empowered to:
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Enact new laws.
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Admit new states to the Federal Union.
To change the residence of the Supreme Powers of the Federation.
To declare war depends of the data submitted by the Executive.
To grant license to the President of the Republic.
To become Electoral College and designate the citizen who should replace the President in case
of permanent absence.
To set contributions.
Head of state
The head of the Executive is the President of Mexico, currently Mr. Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).
National government
The cabinet is appointed and led by the President, currently consists of 18 departments:
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Governorship
External Relationships
National Defense
Marine
Finance
Social Development
Environment and Natural Resources
Energy
Economy
Public Education
Agriculture, Cattle Raising, Rural Development, Fisheries and Feeding
Communication and Transport
Public Function
Health
Labor and Social Security
Agricultural, Territorial and Urban Development
Tourism
Culture
Main political parties
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), National Action party (PAN) and Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD)
Geographical and Climate
Mexico covers an area of 1,964,375 km2, of which 1,959,248 km2 is land area and 5,127 km2 were insular
surface. In this territory should be added the Exclusive Economic Zone of the territorial sea, covering
3,149,920 km2, so the country's total area is 5,114,295 km2. It has borders with United States in the
north, Gulf of Mexico in the east, Guatemala and Belize in the south and Pacific Ocean in the west.
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Mexico has a variety of climates; arid in the north of the territory, warm-humid and sub-humid in the
south, southeast and cold or temperate climates in the high geographic regions.
Population and Demographics
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The current population of Mexico is 129,264,793
Number of immigrants 1,007,063 (2015)
Average age of Mexico residents is 26
3.8% of Mexico residents are above the age of 65
Average annual salary of $609 USD (2012)
Unemployment rate of 3.93%
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Economy
The Mexican government’s hard-earned reputation for fiscal responsibility and sound macroeconomic
management has provided a solid foundation for stability and growth. As Mexico strives to meet the
challenges of a dynamic global economic environment, this PER is intended to support the government’s
efforts to adjust expenditure policies to better reflect the country’s evolving macro-fiscal circumstances.
The Mexican economy continued to expand at an annual rate of 2.5% through most of 2015 and early
2016, though is expected to weaken in 2016 to about 2% following a modest contraction of economic
activity in the 2nd quarter. The expansion of economic activity now fully relies on private consumption
as weak investment and export demand are no longer contributing to growth. Increased external
competitiveness following a substantial depreciation of the Mexican peso with respect to the U.S. dollar
has not yet led to a boost in external demand. Strong vertical supply relations between U.S. and
Mexican manufacturers cause that recent softness in U.S. industrial production is transferred to Mexican
manufacturing industry and exports.
A significant depreciation of the Mexican peso against the US dollar took place over the past two years
as a flexible exchange rate is effectively employed as an external shock absorber. The pass-through of
currency depreciation to domestic prices has thus far been limited as inflation moved to slightly below
the central bank’s target of 3%, though the possibility of such pass-through following additional currency
depreciation remains a major concern for the monetary authorities that, in response, hiked the
monetary policy rate to 4.25 percent.
A persistent trend of increasing debt-to-GDP for almost a decade now (from 29% in 2007 to an
estimated 50.5% by the end of 2016) in combination with falling oil revenue, a fragile financial situation
of the National Oil Company PEMEX as well as disappointing economic growth led rating agencies to put
Mexico’s sovereign (investment grade) rating on a negative outlook. In managing the decline in oil
revenue, the government benefitted from a tax reform implemented in 2014 that substantially raised
non-oil revenue and started to cut (non-mandatory) expenditures in 2015 and 2016. An additional
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Source: World Bank Group (WBG) *The whole block.
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tightening of public expenditure in 2017, aimed at achieving a primary surplus for the first time in nearly
a decade, should stall the increasing public debt burden.
Monetary and fiscal policy responses to adverse external shocks will weigh down on aggregate demand
in the short term. A further decline in the volume of oil production, due to falling output from aging
fields and insufficient investments in replacing exploration and exploitation capacity, will continue to
trim down annual growth rates by about half a percentage point. Nevertheless, economic and financial
stability, further progress in the implementation of an ambitious structural reform agenda, as well as the
increase in external competitiveness following the depreciation of the currency is expected to boost
private investment and exports lifting economic growth in the medium term.
The Mexican economic continues to face a complex external environment in which persistently low oil
prices, a normalization of U.S. monetary policy, a slowdown in global trade and economic growth and a
diversity of geopolitical events may heighten risk aversion and financial volatility posing challenges to
the country’s economic and financial stability and growth outlook. Policy priorities will remain focused
on prudent monetary, financial, and fiscal policies to create the conditions for stronger growth in the
medium term.
GDP (Total)
Estimation
Result
Percent of productivity
CONCEPT
1991-2014
Total of economy
-0.33
Primary sector
0.23
Agriculture, animal breeding and exploitation, forestry, fishing and hunting
0.23
Secondary sector
-0.57
Mining
-1.92
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Generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, water and gas by pipeline
0.49
to the final consumer
Construction
-0.51
Manufacturing industries
-0.32
Third sector
-0.08
Commerce
-0.87
Transportation, mail and storage
-1.08
Mass media information
3.00
Financial services and insurance
0.29
Real estate and rental furniture and Corporate services
0.51
Professional, scientific and technical services
-4.86
Support services to business
-1.32
Educational services
-0.74
Health and social work
-0.44
Cultural, sporting and other recreational services
-1.35
Temporary accommodation services and food & drinks preparation
-0.48
Other services except government activities
0.00
Legislative and governmental activities, and international & extraterritorial
organizations.
-1.00
Highlights
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The Mexican government’s hard-earned reputation for fiscal responsibility and sound
macroeconomic management has provided a solid foundation for stability and growth.
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Mexico GDP is $1.144 billion USD.
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Mexico faces a difficult global context marked by low oil prices, slowing growth in major
emerging markets and a gradual, uneven recovery among advanced economies. Also a
significant depreciation of the Mexican peso against the US dollar took place over the past two
years as a flexible exchange rate is effectively employed as an external shock absorber.
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Strong public revenue performance combined with deficit financing has enabled a substantial
increase in public expenditures over the past decade.
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Taxes contributed the most to public sector revenue growth during the past decade, but there is
still scope for further revenue increases.
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Oil plays a significant role in Mexico’s public finances, but its fiscal importance is gradually
diminishing.
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Mexico’s federal public sector expenditures have increased substantially, driven by a rise in
social spending, public security and capital investment.
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Mexico’s vertical fiscal gap is the largest among OECD countries.
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Mexico allocates a larger share of its budget to economic development than most comparable
countries.
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Mexico is facing a long-term structural increase in healthcare costs.
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There are significant beneficiary overlaps and inconsistencies across insurance schemes.
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Mexico’s water and sanitation indicators are broadly in line with Latin American averages.
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The trade balance in 2015 showed a deficit of 14,460 million dollars, compared to 2,849 million
dollars deficit in 2014, the third largest deficit of the trade balance since 1993, surpassed only in
1994 and 2008. Exports totaled 380,772 million dollars (23,432,000 357,340 oil exports and nonoil) and imports amounted to 395,232 million dollars.
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CONAGUA itself executes about half of total WSS investment, and this share has nearly doubled
in the last 15 years.
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Mexico’s economy has performed well relative to other major Latin American economies in
recent years, largely because of its thriving manufacturing sector.
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Mexico’s manufacturing output is projected to increase between 4 and 4.5 percent for 2015 and
2016, and the Boston Consulting Group expects that the manufacturing sector could add
between $20 billion and $60 billion to Mexico’s economy through 2018.
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The manufacturing value-added sector now makes up 18 percent of Mexico’s GDP.
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The most important universities in Mexico are far from being in the first places of the world.
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In the period January-February 2015, the construction industry recorded a growth of 3.6%
compared to the same period in 2014. With INEGI data the percentage of higher construction
GDP was generated in Baja California Sur with 18.8%, followed by Nayarit with 15.4% and third
Veracruz with 12.2%.
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The federal Government launched the framework of the National Plan for infrastructure (PNI)
which promotes trade and regional economic development in the country, these works include
the construction of roads, bridges, beltways and other important infrastructure works, such as
the new airport international in the Mexico City (NAICM), and the expansion and establishment
of new ports in the Mexican coastal.
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The food sector in Mexico is the 5% in the GDP.
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Subsidies for Productive Inclusion
Mexico’s government devotes roughly 36 percent of its total expenditures to economic affairs, far above
the OECD average of 12 percent. The category of “economic affairs” encompasses spending on all
economic sectors, as well as entrepreneurship programs, labor market programs and support to specific
industries and types of firms (e.g. small and medium enterprises). Housing and urbanization programs
are also included under economic affairs, as they drive growth in the construction sector. Meanwhile,
social development expenditures, including public health, education and social security, represent 52.2
percent of the budget, well below the OECD average of 67 percent. The remaining 11.8 percent of
Mexico’s budget finances all other aspects of public administration, almost half the OECD average of 21
percent.
Health
Health spending as a share of GDP and healthcare utilization rates has grown rapidly in recent years. The
expansion of Seguro Popular (Public health Program) has driven the recent growth of public
expenditures on health; however, as the policy is now nearing full coverage of its intended beneficiaries,
its contribution to overall expenditure growth is expected to moderate.
Construction and Infrastructure
In the period January-February 2015, the construction industry recorded a growth of 3.6% compared to
the same period in 2014. With INEGI data the percentage of higher construction GDP was generated in
Baja California Sur with 18.8%, followed by Nayarit with 15.4% and third Veracruz with 12.2%.
The federal Government launched the framework of the National Plan for infrastructure (PNI) which
promotes trade and regional economic development in the country, these works include the
construction of roads, bridges, beltways and other important infrastructure works, such as the new
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airport international in the Mexico City (NAICM), and the expansion and establishment of new ports in
the Mexican coastal.
The need that goods of different type are marketed appropriately and in all corners of the country, has
referred to develop nationwide 56 Highway beltways, that allow the interconnection of ports,
commercial distribution centers and places of final consumption. The federal Government plans to
invest MX$7.75 trillion (approximately US$596 billion) on 743 key infrastructure projects.
The National Infrastructure Program (NIP) 2014-2018 offers an attractive set of opportunities for all
those involved or looking to delve into infrastructure projects in Mexico. Through an unprecedented
level of investment meant to improve Mexico’s energy, urban development and housing, commercial
and tourism, communications and transport, water, and finally, health sectors, the infrastructure
industry in Mexico is bound to boom during the present and coming administration.
Currently, 17 of Mexico’s 76 airports account for 88% of the 86.4 million passengers and 98% of the
747,000 tons of cargo moved through the country every year. Moreover, of Mexico’s 117 ports, the
Altamira, Veracruz, Manzanillo, and Lazaro Cardenas ports see 96% of the container cargo, 65% of
agricultural grains, 40% of mineral grains, and 38% of general loose cargo passing through the country. It
comes as no surprise that both Mexico City’s airport, as well as a number of ports, have declared
themselves at maximum capacity.
The Mexican government’s response has been to approve the immediate construction of a new airport
in Mexico City, as well as announcing 20 projects to improve the national airport system. Moreover, the
NIP plans to lessen the burden on the current port infrastructure by expanding and improving its
strategic ports infrastructure. It also aims to create proper access roads and railways to take advantage
of economies of scale and convert Mexico’s ports into maritime logistic hubs of the Pacific Ocean and
Caribbean Sea.
Mexico´s number of industrial parks has increased by almost 300% since 1986, from 127 to 550.
The National Infrastructure Program 2014-2018 destined US$51.8 billion for improving Mexico’s
telecommunications infrastructure, for five strategic projects.
Around 50.3% of the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) 2014-2018 budget (US$299 billion) is allocated to
262 projects within the energy sector, of which approximately 7.7% is given to CFE and 42.6% to PEMEX,
energy could lead the growth of the Mexican infrastructure sector.
According to The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2016 Mexico ranks 52nd out of 144 countries in
terms of road infrastructure quality and 64th in railroad infrastructure quality. The National
Infrastructure Program (NIP) 2014-2018 states that Mexico’s 377,600km road and highway network is
the primary means of transportation for 55% of the total cargo (or 490 million tons) and 98% (3.3.
billion) of the people mobilized in Mexico on a yearly basis. In addition, the country owns 26,722km of
railroads, of which 17,800km are operated under concessions by 8 private operators.
Tourism infrastructure is also experiencing renewed interest, with the NPI 2014-2018 dedicating 83
projects valued at MX$181,242 billion to developing tourism infrastructure such as hotels, museums,
and boulevards. With ecological tourism booming, construction trends in the lodging sector are moving
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towards more sustainable, green alternatives, thereby offering a wealth of opportunities to companies
active in this sector.
Manufacturing
Mexico’s economy has performed well relative to other major Latin American economies in recent
years, largely because of its thriving manufacturing sector.
Although low global oil prices will put pressure on Mexico’s economy, the performance of the
manufacturing sector — especially in high-end manufacturing — will be a key driver of Mexico’s
economic growth this year and beyond.
Mexico’s manufacturing output is projected to increase between 4 and 4.5 percent for 2015 and 2016,
and the Boston Consulting Group expects that the manufacturing sector could add between $20 billion
and $60 billion to Mexico’s economy through 2018. The manufacturing value-added sector now makes
up 18 percent of Mexico’s GDP.
To become cost-competitive Mexico implemented some alternatives by making more valuable products,
such as automotive, aeronautical and electronic products; these Mexican products remained costcompetitive because of NAFTA. Several of these subsectors are driving this manufacturing growth, most
notably in high-end manufacturing, such as the automotive, plastics and aerospace industries. Mexico’s
auto sector has been particularly strong, experiencing double-digit export growth every year since 2010.
The plastics industry, which is valued at more than $20 billion per year, has averaged 13.4 percent
growth in exports over the past five years. Automotive exports increased by 152 percent ($27.9 billion to
$70.3 billion) and electronic exports increased by 73 percent ($43.3 billion to $74.9 billion) over the
same period. Meanwhile, Mexico’s small but burgeoning aerospace industry based in the central state
of Queretaro has grown even faster in recent years.
On the lower end of manufacturing, there has also been steady growth, though not as rapid as in much
of Mexico’s high-end manufacturing. Exports of textiles have averaged 9 percent growth over the last
two years, while clothing exports have averaged 3.5 percent growth. This suggests that the high-end
sectors concentrated in northern Mexico are more attractive within the country’s manufacturing sector
and are larger, both in terms of growth and absolute value, than the low-end sector in southern Mexico.
There is also an important regional distinction that should be taken into account. A significant portion of
U.S. export-oriented middle- and high-end manufacturing takes place in northern Mexico, especially
around Monterrey, which is major steel producing area where GDP per capita exceeds $40,000. The
electronics industry is also important and contributes greatly to the economy of northern states like
Chihuahua, Baja California and Tamaulipas. On the other end of the spectrum, low-end manufacturing of
goods like clothing and textiles is continuing to expand in southern Mexico, in cities like Campeche and
Veracruz, making this particular region a beneficiary of China’s growing labor costs. Average
manufacturing labor costs in Mexico are now almost 20 percent lower than in China.
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Since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994, Mexico’s real GDP climbed by about $383 billion to nearly
$1.3 trillion. This growth, which placed Mexico second in Latin America and 15th in the world in terms of
GDP, rose primarily because of the advantages that come with Mexico’s proximity to the United States.
Import and Export
The trade balance in 2015 showed a deficit of 14,460 million dollars, compared to 2,849 million dollars
deficit in 2014, the third largest deficit of the trade balance since 1993, surpassed only in 1994 and 2008.
Exports totaled 380,772 million dollars (23,432,000 357,340 oil exports and non-oil) and imports
amounted to 395,232 million dollars. Excluding oil, the trade balance showed a deficit of 37 MUSD in
2015. In December 2015, the value of merchandise exports was 30.961 million dollars (29,747 non-oil
exports of oil and 1,214), an annual decrease 9.3%, reflecting the decline of 6.1% in non-oil exports and
50.8% in oil. The value of merchandise imports totaled 31,887 million, an annual decrease of 5.8%, as a
result of the 4% drop in non-oil imports and 22.2% in oil.
This is information of the imports and exports from the first half of 2016.
Concept2
Total Exports
Oil Companies
Raw oil
Other
Non oil
Agricultural
Extractive
Manufacturing
Automotive
Rest
Total Imports
Oil Companies
Raw oil
Intermediate goods
Oil Companies
Non oil
Intermediate goods
Oil Companies
Non oil
Capital goods
Mexican Exports in Dollars
2
Source: INEGI
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Millions of dollars
August 2016
January-August 2016
32 416.7
1 751.3
1 490.4
260.9
30 665.4
922.7
388.2
29 354.6
9 722.2
19 632.4
34 330.0
2 789.5
31 540.5
4 639.1
984.4
3 654.7
26 089.6
1 805.1
24 284.4
3 601.3
241 018.0
11 455.2
9 286.0
2 169.2
229 562.8
9 741.7
2 654.6
217 166.5
72 927.5
144 239.1
251 874.3
19 264.3
232 610.0
33 200.1
7 039.7
26 160.4
192 771.0
12 224.7
180 546.3
25 903.2
Mexican Exports by Industry
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Mexico's Main Imports from the world: Electric machinery; machinery and mechanical
appliances/parts; vehicles; mineral fuel/oil; plastics and articles thereof.
Top 10 Mexican Imports from Canada
Canada’s exports to Mexico amounted to 9.9 billion or 2.5% of its overall imports.
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Vehicles: $1.5 billion
Machinery: $1.2 billion
Electronic equipment: $683 million
Oil seed: $662.8 million
Plastics: $649.5 million
Aluminum: $577.7 million
Iron and steel: $455.7 million
Iron or steel products: $438.8 million
Rubber: $372.1 million
Meat: $371.9 million
Food Sector
Mexico is the 8th largest producer of food products worldwide and third largest in America.
Mexico is the world’s largest producer of organic coffee, avocado and concentrated citric juices;
ranks second worldwide in the production of corn flour, lemon and concentrated lemon juice,
lime and sorghum; and is the third largest global producer of orange juice, chiles, pepper, alfalfa and
frozen vegetables.
Between 2000 and 2013 Mexico’s food processing sector attracted CHF 21.1 billion in foreign
direct investment. Mexico’s beverage sector attracted CHF 20.5 billion and the agricultural sector
received CHF 503 million in the same period. The largest investors in Mexico’s food sector
include United States, Switzerland, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom while in the beverage
sector the leading investment sources have been Belgium, Netherlands and United States.
The agri-food sector represents 7.6% of Mexico’s GDP and employs 14% of Mexico’s workforce.
Mexico’s territorial extension and climate diversity combined with its geographical position Mexico
is the world's 7th largest importer of agri-food products (excluding the European Union). The CanadaMexico bilateral agriculture and food trade has been increasing steadily, reaching approximately $3.5
billion in 2014. During 2014, Canada maintained its position as the second largest supplier of agri-food
products to Mexico with a share of 6.7% on the total Mexican agri-food imports, only behind the United
States (U.S.).
3
Best Universities
Here is the Top 10 of Universities in Mexico and it position in the global ranking:
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Source: Conacyt
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Water and Sanitation
In 2013 Mexico invested about 0.25% of its GDP—or MXN 37 billion—in the WSS sector, a relatively
modest amount compared to its peers. Total investment includes budgetary and no budgetary federal
resources, as well as funds from state and municipal governments, state water commissions and the
private sector. Some of these investments were in the form of funds pledged by local governments in
order to secure matching federal funds. Latin American countries with similar or higher coverage levels
such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile typically spend more than Mexico, and some regional leaders such as
Costa Rica spend more than twice as much. Mexico’s water and sanitation indicators are broadly in line
with Latin American averages. Within Mexico there are large disparities in infrastructure quality across
regions and a moderate disparity between rural and urban areas.
The importance of CONAGUA’s financing role goes beyond its own investments. It also manages federal
capital investment subsidy transfers or matching grants, which incentivize complementary investments
and unlock matching funds. When co-financed investments are included, CONAGUA’s share in total WSS
investment increases to about 80 percent.
Canadian Trade
Spanning more than 70 years, Canada and Mexico share a vibrant, multi-faceted relationship that is
characterized by deep people-to-people ties, rich cultural connections and growing trade and
investment. In recognition of this important relationship, the Government of Canada has committed to
enhancing and expanding relations with Mexico, both bilaterally and within the North American
partnership.
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Canada and Mexico have become important strategic partners that share ongoing dialogue and
engagement. Their collaborative efforts are pursued through a variety of means, ranging from periodic
high-level consultations and inter-parliamentary meetings to more institutionalized mechanisms such as
the Canada-Mexico Partnership (CMP). The CMP, established in 2004, aims to promote collaboration
between the public and private sectors and operates through a series of working groups covering:
energy; agri-business; labor mobility; human capital; trade, investment and innovation; environment;
mining; and forestry. A yearly security dialogue involving security consultations, as well as politicalmilitary talks, is complemented by strategic security programming through the Anti-Crime Capacity
Building Program and the Global Partnership Program. At the same time, Canada works closely with
Mexico to advance common interests through international and regional forums such as the United
Nations and the Organization of American States.
Their trade and investment relationship has seen strong growth since the entry into force of the North
America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. Canada and Mexico are each other’s third largest
trading partner, with two-way merchandise trade reaching over $37.8 billion in 2015. Canadian direct
investment in Mexico reached over $14.8 billion (stock) in 2015, while Mexican direct investment in
Canada totaled $1.4 billion (stock). There are also a significant number of Canadian companies that have
business, trade and investment ties with Mexico. As a result, Mexico has been identified as a priority
market for Export Development Canada (EDC), which has operated a regional office in Mexico since
2000, providing extensive financial services related to Canadian exports and investments in the country.
Mexico’s demographic and economic prospects point toward an even greater growth in commercial
exchanges.
Their people-to-people connections are undeniable, with nearly 2 million Canadians travelling to Mexico
every year for both business and pleasure. In addition, a significant number of Canadians, particularly
retirees, have purchased property in Mexico and spend extended periods of time there. Northbound,
Canada has recently seen an increase in visitors from Mexico. According to the Canadian Tourism
Commission, more than 200,000 Mexicans vacationed in Canada during 2015.
In addition, Canada receives approximately 20,000 agricultural workers annually under the Seasonal
Agricultural Workers Program, often cited as a model for international labor-mobility arrangements.
Mexico is also Canada’s 10th largest source country for international students, hosting more than 5000
Mexican students in 2015. Academic and cultural ties are essential components of our relationship.
There is a significant amount of ongoing academic collaboration and exchange, with more than 400
signed agreements among Canadian universities and Mexican universities and technical institutes.
Canada's merchandise exports to Mexico (2012-2014 annual average) (value in millions of Canadian
dollars)
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Agriculture and Agri-food (2,013.1)
Fish and Seafood Products (8.4)
Forestry Products (296.8)
Automobile Parts (1,271.6)
Iron and Steel Products (858.0)
Industrial Machinery (819.9)
Other Industrial Products (4,889.4)
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Prince Edward Island Exports
According to Industry Canada, the total exported goods grew from 1,119 million in 2014 to 1,291 million
in 2015, an increase of 15.4 per cent. Exports of frozen food products made up 20.2 per cent of all
international exports of goods in 2015. Its valued increased from 218.8 million in 2014 to 261million in
2015 an increase of 19.3 per cent. Other exports included seafood products value at 19.5 million (down
by .3 per cent from 2014), $84.6 million in engine and turbine equipment exports (up by 1.6 per cent)
and $83.5 million in aerospace products and parts (up by 13 per cent).
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In 2014, for the first time, international exports from Prince Edward Island exceeding the one billion
dollar mark and early indications for 2015 indicate being on track for another banner year. The exports
increased by 22 per cent from 2013 to 2014 in Prince Edward Island.
Exports of farm products and seafood remain the island largest export areas, with advanced
manufacturing, including aerospace and electronics are being the most active group.
The most important market for island exports was the United States, followed by South Korea, France
and United Kingdom.
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Prince Edward Island Exports to the Americas excluding U.S. in 2012:
Opportunities
As it is seen in this document, the exports from PEI to Mexico remain low and far from being one of the
top markets.
The Province, as the rest of Canada, should see México as a top business destination.
In the experience of this consultant, PEI creates "curiosity" to Mexicans and the same way, México is
"exotic" for many Canadians, Mexicans feel the same way about an unknown destination.
Over the past eight years, directly opportunities have been found in:
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Veterinary industry, feeds, technology and professional services.
Hardware and equipment to improve production procedures.
Software and IT services.
Sea food products may have an interesting opportunity, if brand strategy targets quality and
differentiation. One example is Canadian beef products. While México is strong on the sector,
Canadian beef is advertised in some Mexican restaurants as "top quality products”.
Education should remain a top priority, as the number of people interested in College
institutions in PEI have tripled since the first year of activities.
Nevertheless, it is important to know that other Provinces and Countries have realized the
potential of Mexico and therefore, PEI institutions should keep creating strategies to maintain
the current growth.
Mexico is still ranking as one of the most attractive for foreign capital international destinations. Some
of the sectors are:
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Aerospace
Food
Automotive
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Creative industries
health tourism
Exploit global connections
Sources:
World Bank Group (WBG)
Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Información (INEGI)
Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, Spain Government.
Forbes
Mexican Government
Canadian Government
Statistics Canada
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