Food sector in Jalisco advances slowly

Guadalajara, Jal. Although it will not reach the 10% growth projected at the beginning of the year, the Jalisco food industry – which participates with 20% of food production nationwide – will grow between 6.5 and 7% this 2022 and is set to grow 8% during in 2023, the president of the Jalisco Food Industry Chamber (CIAJ), Antonio Lancaster-Jones, told El Economista.

“We continue to be leaders in the food industry. If we add food and beverages, we produce close to 20% of the country’s food and beverages; In agribusiness we are the first national place with 13% of food production in the country and, in general, one in five foods is produced in Jalisco”, he commented.

“But in a survey we did with the members of the chamber, they all grew 16% and that shows the importance of business organizations; while the sector grew 6.9% our partners grew 16%”, he stressed.

The leader of the food industry in the state recognized that inflation was one of the main challenges for the sector that, even when a percentage of the increase in production costs was transferred to the final consumer, the majority, he said, was absorbed by the companies.

“83% of the partners did not increase their utility and even decreased, which is part of the commitment that the industry had with families so as not to pass all the inflation costs on to the final consumer,” reported Lancaster-Jones González, based on a survey carried out among the companies affiliated with the CIAJ.

He mentioned that at the end of November, national annual inflation in food and beverages was 14.09% and the generic foods that increased in price the most in the last year were lard with 45.6%, potatoes with 43.7%, oranges with 37.3% and white bread with 35.1% increase.

The president of the CIAJ anticipated that in 2023 they expect to grow 8% in general, although, by subsector, dairy expects growth of 12%, food supplements 8%, confectionery 15%, bakery 5%, and in beverages forecast growth of 5 percent. Meanwhile, in the meat, fat, seeds and sauces sector they do not expect growth next year.

In terms of foreign trade, the food industry represents about 14% of total exports from the state of Jalisco.

“The United States is the natural market, but we are betting on the Asian and European markets; one more issue of grains and specialized foods for Asia and Europe, high value foods, mainly gourmet products”, mentioned Lancaster-Jones González.

estados@eleconomista.mx