• BEERMAKERS: Government-mandated closures of beer manufacturing in Mexico during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic caused a 4.7 percent drop in production in 2020 affecting also the country’s exports, Mexican beermakers’ chamber Cerveceros de México showed.
• NUMBERS: According to the chamber, Mexican beer exports fell 6.2 percent in 2020 compared to the year before. Overall, producers are doubtful to regain the 5 percent annual growth in production of the past years due to sanitary measures and closures of bars and restaurants still in place.
•CLOSURES: “Having been closed for 60 days was a blow and an important impact on the industry for having stopped manufacturing”, said Karla Siqueiros, head of Cerveceros de México. “Later, we came back…and we faced additional local restrictions in terms of distribution and selling”.
• POWERHOUSE: Mexico is the biggest beer exporter in the world accounting for around 26 percent of global exports and generating more than US $4 billion in annual sales. Around 70 percent of imported beers available in the US come from Mexico, according to the Beer Institute.
