The pandemic and the imbalances it brought to global value chains are sorrows that the tequila industry managed to drown out with more shots in 2021: amid restrictions on consumption and shortages of supplies, the production of the spirit drink grew 40.9% to a record 527 million liters.
Most of this increase is contributed by the 100% agave tequila segment, whose production grew 60% to 366 million liters, reports Luis Félix Fernández, president of the National Chamber of the Tequila Industry (CNIT), according to figures from the Tequila Regulatory Council.
“This is a segment with a bit more premium characteristics, which is what we are also exporting more of,” he says in a conversation with El Economista. 100% agave tequila, the most select among distilled agave beverages in the country, accounted for seven out of every 10 liters of tequila made in Mexico last year.
By type of market, production for domestic sale had a spectacular increase of 115% to 188 million liters, but Félix Fernández clarified that part of the increase in production was not necessarily marketed last year, since it includes distillate that will still pass through one of aging in barrels before being bottled.
However, the notable growth in production is a reflection of the expectations of a booming demand for this and the following years. In Mexico, Félix said, tequila continues to gain market share and accounts for just over 40% of distilled beverage consumption.
Exports grew 18% to 338 million liters, equivalent to 64% of total production. 85% of the product sent out of Mexico went to the United States, a country where tequila is one of the three drinks with the highest growth in consumption, along with whiskey and cognac, and there is still a significant margin for growth.
“In the last three years, the share of tequila went from 6 to 8% and we think that the potential is between 10 and 15% in the next five years,” said Félix Fernández.
“There is great versatility in the drink and that is what we are promoting, there are few distillates that serve as appetizers, digestifs, which can also be taken in cocktails or enjoyed on their own,” he added.
And speaking of drinks, the margarita has become one of the most popular in the United States, where even celebrities like George Clooney or Kendall Jenner have sought to capitalize on the success of tequila, launching their own brands.
Luis Félix Fernández has mixed feelings. On the one hand, he recognizes that the incursion of famous figures into the tequila business gives the product greater publicity but, on the other hand, these are names without roots in the industry whose business model is usually to make up the distillate, without compromising greater investments.
2021, test passed
In the midst of the greater appetite for its product, the industry also suffered from disruptions in value chains due to an uneven productive reactivation as a result of the pandemic. In particular, it faced glass shortages and also suffered logistical bottlenecks in different ports, although since the United States is the main export market, it has advantages such as being able to export products in bulk – by land.
On the other hand, the closure of restaurants and bars and their subsequent opening in limited capacities negatively impacted the consumption of alcoholic beverages, however, there was an adaptation of the market and the moments of consumption changed to home, where consumption skyrocketed, being the United States is also the benchmark market.
octavio.amador@eleconomista.mx