Partner Spotlight
The names Pacifico, Corona, and Sol may conjure up images of sandy beaches and palm trees for most people, but many do not know the base of those delicious brands are deeply rooted in the high mountain desert of Montana. As one of the United States top malt barley producers, Montana has a very close relationship with Mexico, and it is consistently one of our top barley destinations.
The malt barley market certainly sees high levels of competition from other countries, and there are key areas where growth is possible, especially in the raw barley sector. In the 2020/2021 marketing year, the US only accounted for 8% of Mexican raw barley imports. The majority of this un-malted barley is imported from France and Australia. On the flip side, in the same marketing year, the United States accounted for 65% of the malt imports, with Canada following at 17%.
There are three big players in the Mexican beer industry, with CCM-Heineken, Constellation, and Modelo making up 99% of the malt and barley imports. In 2020, the Mexican brewing industry experienced a total shutdown, but is now back up to operating at 95% capacity, and in 2021 production was 14% higher than 2020, and up 7.6% from 2019. Additionally, the craft brewing industry has seen tremendous growth in the last decade, and recently reached a milestone of 1% market share, which is substantial considering total import needs are 400,000 metric tons, or over 18 million bushels. During 2021, the craft brewing industry grew 21%, and Mexico now has 1462 craft breweries which employ over 10,000 people.
This symbiotic relationship also provides a great benefit for us, with the United States accounting for nearly 80% of all the beer exported out of Mexico, so next time you raise a glass, toast our trade partners to the south!