What Are Mexico's Main Imports and Exports?

There are only a handful of countries in the world that can lay claim to be a major oil producer in the world. Mexico is one of them. Mexico has long been a trade partner with the United States, Spain, New Zealand and other developed economies worldwide.

In fact, Mexico is the 9th largest export economy in the world. With that said, here are their major exports and imports.

Among Mexico’s major exports are machinery and transport equipment, steel, electrical equipment, chemicals, food products, and petroleum and petroleum products. About four-fifths of Mexico’s petroleum is exported to the United States, which relies heavily on Mexico as one of its principal sources of oil. Mexico’s major imports include machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, and consumer goods.

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1. Exports

Oil

One of the major destinations for Mexican oil is the United States, accounting for 48% of the oil produced in by the nation. The United States imported more than 210 million barrels of crude oil from Mexico. Other countries that Mexico supplies oil to include Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Germany. Currently, Mexico earns 18 billion dollars annually from crude oil exportation alone and since the country’s oil reserves are significant, this is an avenue of revenue not expected to decline anytime soon.

Mexican oil accounts for over 30% of the government’s revenue and it continually attracts and drives investment in the country from both public and private sectors.

Vehicles

Exportation of cars in Mexico has gone up with the industry accounting for 11% of all of Mexico’s exports. Car parts and accessories also made up a significant number in the exportation equation with 7% of these products leaving the country for foreign markets. These numbers fluctuated through the months but as countries grapple with economic downturns and trade wars this was to be expected.

Brands that have manufacturing plants in Mexico include General Motors, Nissan, FCA Mexico, Volkswagen, KIA, Mazda, Toyota, Audi, Honda. In the first few months of 2019 auto exports were low, but they quickly reached an all-time high in March of 2019.

Mexico is the 5th largest exporter and manufacturer of specialized and heavy vehicles and vehicle parts especially those used in agriculture and construction industries. The United States and Canada received the highest number of light vehicle exports from Mexico.

Minerals

Mexico is the world’s 7th largest exporter of copper and 9th largest exporter of gold. Mexico has been in the mining and mineral business for centuries and it has been during that time trading in minerals with its neighbors like the United States.

The mining industry in Mexico is a major player in the government’s revenue generation because the country has an excellent geological potential for mining. Countries like Canada, Germany, United States, Japan and Spain have large mining investments in the country giving them priority as export destinations for minerals from Mexico.

2. Imports

Corn

Mexico is a major consumer of the corn in the global market. Their biggest trade partner in this product is the United States which exported over 44 million metric tonnes of corn to Mexico in 2019. Other countries that supply Mexico’s corn include Argentina which provided Mexico with 150, 000 tonnes of corn to supplement their export from the U.S.

Lately, Mexico has been looking to Brazil for more corn as the country stares at a stalemate over the NAFTA trade agreement with its biggest supplier of corn: the United States.

Electrical machinery

In 2017 alone Mexico imported 150 billion dollars-worth of electrical machinery and equipment from the rest of the world. Currently, electrical machine importation makes up 40% of the country’s total imports annually. As the largest imported commodity, the country has to find different sources for it and India has quickly become one of its frequent suppliers providing $210 million worth of equipment.

The increase of electric machinery is mainly supported by the mining industry and vehicle manufacture industry.

Refined oil

Mexico is increasingly relying on the United States and other countries for refined oil even though they export crude oil to the same countries. The Mexican refineries are used to processing light crude oil which can’t satisfy their demand so they depend on foreign refined petroleum products.

The Mexican economy is heavily reliant on oil to get their industries and manufacturing plants going so they have to keep the flow of oil products going through exportation.

Medical equipment

80% of Mexico’s medical supplies and equipment are imported into the country. The country has spent $5.7 billion in procurement of medical supplies for the health sector. The Mexican health sector is divided into three parts: medical services, pharmaceuticals/bio-pharma and medical devices.

In Mexico all medical devices and equipment can be imported with a duty exemption as long as a NAFTA certificate of origin is produced. And with the growth of medical tourism in Mexico, the number of patients has soared as has the demand for high quality medical equipment and devices.

Medical tourism is one of the primary reasons why medical apparatus is one of the top imports of the Mexican economy.

3. How to find Mexico importers and exporters

In the Tendata database, you can view transaction details for each deal using product keywords or HS codes. You can analyze competitors' and sellers' prices, scale, and other information, as well as check transaction details.

After identifying suitable buyers for our business, it's crucial to analyze their purchasing habits. By evaluating the quantity and weight of their purchases each time, we can determine if they fit our business segment. Often, it's impractical to work with buyers that are too large or too small, as the former might be unmanageable and the latter not worth the effort. This is a very practical consideration.

>> Free access to Mexico's import and export data <<