Foreign trade in Mexico
What about the current import and export situation from the Mexican point of view? Which goods have the highest demand for import and export and which are the reasons for the import strength of Mexico?
Compared to other Latin American countries, Mexico ranks first when it comes to the volume of imports. In 2017, total goods worth 420 billion USD were imported (increase of 8.6% in comparison to 2016). Goods imported from Germany had a total worth over $ 15.2 billion.
Which factors are responsible for the development of Mexico’s import strength?
- A steadily increasing population, which has meanwhile grown up to around 124 million habitants and in 2017 recorded population growth of 1.1%.
- Along with the growing population, consumer spending is also rising.
- The need for modernization in the local industry still has enormous potential to catch up. The main factor for the slow pace are the traditional Mexican companies, mostly with highly hierarchical structures.
The sum of all Mexican exports amounted to US $ 408 billion in 2017. 84% was exported to the US, which more illustrates the tremendous economic dependence on the neighboring country. Compared to 2016, it was an increase of 4%.
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Fig. ll: A quarter of all exported products come from the automotive industry, followed by electronics with a percentage of 16.
Exports to Germany during the same period amounted around USD 8.8 billion (previous year: USD 6.1 billion).
The current foreign trade quota, therefore the value of all imports and exports, is estimated at USD 760 billion in 2017, representing a percentage of 72.2%.