Catalonia sets a record for food and drink sales in Mexico

In recent years, Mexico has established itself as one of the main destinations for Catalan food and drink. Catalonia exports more than 50,000 tonnes of food and drink to Mexico each year, worth more than €180 million. Mexico is Catalonia's leading agri-food market in Latin America, the 9th outside the EU and the 18th worldwide. 

These results have grown over the last two years, since Prodeca established a permanent presence in the Mexican market, the result of joint work between Prodeca and the Catalan Government Delegation to Mexico, with ACCIÓ. Since 2021, Catalan food and drink exports have grown 73% in value and 17% in volume. This reinforces, on the one hand, the agri-food sector's shift from volume to value in its international positioning and, on the other, Prodeca's commercial commitment to Mexico as a strategic market. 

Mexico, a strategic market 

Over the last two years, thanks to joint work between Prodeca and the Catalan Government Delegation to Mexico, numerous trade promotion and company support activities have been organised, with more than 500 B2B meetings between Catalan companies and Mexican importers, under the brand Catalonia, where food is culture. Add more than 15 trade and food promotion events displaying more than 500 Catalan products, and six masterclasses on Catalan products attended by more than 170 Mexican professionals from hospitality, hotels, sommeliers and distributors. 

So, the joint work between Prodeca - DACC and the Catalan Government Delegation to Mexico has created an entry platform for Catalan companies, so they can connect more easily with Mexican buyers, importers and distributors and publicise the opportunities and competitiveness of Catalan products.

Among the events showcasing Catalan products, notable are the point-of-sale promotions at the City Market gourmet supermarkets (November 2021), with 50 Catalan companies and 200 Catalan product lines, and Chedrahui Selecto (June 2023), in which 3 companies registered and 50 lines were displayed; the Catalonia Festival with El Palacio del Hierro (July 2022), with 20 Catalan brands and 100 products on show; a A showroom of Catalan products (May 2023); and the commemorative Sant Jordi menu (2022 and 2023), with nine Mexican restaurants across the country offering Catalan cooking and products.

Likewise, Mexican buyers took part in the Latam buyer programme at  Alimentaria 2022, with seven Mexican importers generating more than 170 meetings with Catalan companies, and last June at the Catalan Food Business Forum, with 10 Mexican buyers and 275 business meetings with 67 Catalan companies. 

Making business opportunities easier for Catalan companies

As a result of these trade and agri-food promotion activities, several Catalan companies have already increased their sales in Mexico. "The ultimate aim of the collaboration between Prodeca and the Government Delegation is to generate new business opportunities for companies and so get Catalan products onto retail shelves. You could say we set the table so companies can bring the guests. In other words, to make it as easy as possible for our food and drink to shine commercially in this market", says Ramon Sentmartí, managing director of Prodeca. 

"The macroeconomic data show how interesting the Mexican market is for Catalan companies and how attractive Catalan products are to Mexican consumers. The work Prodeca and the Delegation in Mexico are doing together reflects our responsibility to act in a coordinated way to seize the opportunities this market offers and open doors for Catalan agri-food companies. We are very pleased with how Catalan products are being received and with the results of these two years' work. We can say that Catalan produce, highly regarded in the Mexican market, is better positioned in Mexico than ever", concludes Lleïr Daban, Catalan Government Delegate to Mexico.

Catalan agri-food exports to Mexico

Mexico has historically had strong cultural and business ties with Catalonia, a bond that has become more evident for the agri-food sector in recent years. Catalonia sells to Mexico 1.24% of the value and 0.68% of the volume of its agri-food exports (2022). These exports account for 30% of the value and 25% of the volume exported to Latin America. Catalonia currently exports more than 50,000 tonnes of food and drink to Mexico each year, worth more than €180 million.

The most exported category to Mexico is fine food, which stands out for its distinctive values: tradition, craftsmanship, quality linked to the product's and territory's particular features, innovation and exclusivity. Vegetable juices, waters, beers, drinks and smoothies lead the category (21% of value and 15.7% of volume); second come snacks and appetisers and bakery and pastry products (6.3% of value and 10% of volume); followed by ready meals, broths, preserves, jams and marmalades (5.9% of value and 11% of volume); and sweets, cocoa and confectionery (1.5% of value and 1% of volume).

Second comes the meat and cured meats sector (29% of value and 24.6% of export volume), led by pork (11% of value and volume) and cured meats (3% of value and 2% of volume).
Third is vegetable oils (13.7% of value and 15.5% of volume), led by olive oil (9.1% of value and 6.2% of volume).

Finally, wine sector exports also stand out (7% of value and 5.5% of volume), with wine accounting for 5.8% of value and 4.3% of volume and sparkling wines 0.7% of value and volume.

As for the number of agri-food exporters, 350 companies currently export there, 22% more than two years ago, further evidence of the pull created by Prodeca's presence in the market. 

Mexico, a rising market

Mexico is the world's 10th largest importer of food and drink. In 2022 the market's food imports reached €35,788 million, 43% more than five years earlier, and imports are expected to grow by more than 15% over the next five years.

On the value of agri-food consumption, Mexico is Latin America's second market — after Brazil — and the 9th worldwide, with exponential growth of 41% over the last five years. It currently has turnover of almost €209,000 million and is forecast to grow 36% over the next five years at 6.4% a year. In terms of consumer potential, Mexico is a market of 128.9 million people, the world's 11th most populous country, with steadily rising demand.