The great acceptance of tequila -in cocktails such as the Margarita, in Paloma and “right”- among the US consumer will cause the Mexican industry -once again- to register growth of up to 10% in the volume of production and sales by 2022; although it will also be reflected in the price of the drink, anticipated Luis Fernando Félix Fernández, president of the National Chamber of the Tequila Industry (CNIT).
“We believe that the industry will continue to grow with this trend that we are seeing, let us remember that the United States is where it is sold the most, and growth is very important. The projection we have is a growth in volume of approximately between 8 and 10%”, she explained in a virtual press conference.
Announcing the event to commemorate the tequila dayto be held on March 19, in which restaurants from Jalisco and Mexico City will participate, with different mixology contests, the president of the CNIT said that the United States is the country with the largest export of the alcoholic beverage, followed by countries like Germany, Spain, Japan.
He specified that the tequila industry exports 338 million liters to the world, which represents 64% of total production. But of sales abroad, 85% is sent to the United States, because it is the country with the greatest demand.
Tequila consumption in the United States increased 19%, “it was the category that grew the most in percentage, while in premium and luxury segments it grew 30% and now it is being consumed like in Mexico, right. However, a large sector is oriented towards cocktails such as the Margarita or the Paloma”, Luis Fernando Félix abounded.
That acceptance of tequila in the US market was demonstrated during 2021 with a 30.1% increase in sales, which is equivalent to 1,200 million dollars more than in 2020, according to figures from the Distilled Spirits Council (Discus, for its acronym in English).
“The projected growth is supported by the export part, what we are seeing is that also in countries like Asia and Europe that are opening consumption centers, they will surely benefit from a greater demand for tequila; the case of Latin America was also an exponential boom”, stated the business leader.
The mexican market is the most representative for tequila industrybeing the representative symbol of Mexico, is important in sales, since 40% is national consumption.
However, the prices of tequila registered an increase in Mexico and in the United States because the costs of supplies such as glass bottles increased, the price of agave that was on the rise last year but will fall this year, although currently “ the price of agave is still high”, which could lead to a 12% increase in value.
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