There is a large demand for malt in Mexico, which comes mainly from the domestic beer industry, Alejandro Ruiz, Commercial Officer Canadian Embassy, Mexico told Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Mexico is among the top 10 producers of beer around the world. During the period 1998-2002 the production of beer in Mexico showed an increase of 16%, jumping from 5.5 billion litres to 6.3 billion litres.

The beer industry in Mexico is dominated by two companies: Grupo Modelo, which has a market share of around 56.4% and FEMSA Cerveza with a share of 43.6%. These two companies are the largest demanders of malt. Mexican consumers prefer beer above other alcoholic beverages mainly due to its low price. In 2002 the annual per-capita consumption of beer in Mexico was estimated at 50 litres.

Over the last few years the imports of malt have been growing in order to satisfy the growing demand from the domestic beer industry. During the period 1998-2002 the Mexican imports of malt grew from 118,321 tonnes with a value of US$34.6 million to 126,051 tonnes with a value of US$44 million. The U.S. was the main supplier of malt to Mexico during the analyzed period with a market share of 74%, followed by Canada with a share of 26%.

30 March, 2004