Mexico has beaten The Netherlands, and it didn’t take a penalty to do so. Mexico is the world’s largest beer exporter, according to the latest figures, for the fourth year in a row.
Exports hit a record US $2.21 billion in 2013, an increase of 4.2%. The Netherlands, of all countries, was in second place with sales of $1.99 billion, a 1.7% increase, and Belgium, which recorded a hefty 14.4% rise for sales of $1.55 billion.
Mexico is the primary beer provider for the United States, Australia, Chile, Guatemala, Argentina and New Zealand, not to mention the domestic market, which is in itself very large.
“In Mexico there is accelerated urbanization and a growth in the middle class, which is opening opportunities for the premium segment,” said Marc Busain, president of Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, makers of Sol and Dos Equis, among others, and owned by Heineken of The Netherlands.
Corona, made by Grupo Modelo, is the brand leader in Mexican exports, going to 180 countries.
The Netherlands, which knocked Mexico out of the World Cup with a penalty that wasn’t really a penalty, was the world leader in exports from 2007-2009, when Mexico returned to first place, where it had been in 2006.
In the eyes of at least one beer lover, though, The Netherlands is tough to beat for its beer culture.
Writing in the Los Angeles Times a few weeks ago, John Verive made several predictions on World Cup outcomes based on the beer produced by the teams’ countries. He pointed out that while Mexico has a reputation as a beer-loving country with a surging craft beer movement, “the Dutch make some of the finest beer in Europe (and I don’t mean Heineken).”
He cited three breweries as evidence, but conceded that Mexico might have the upper hand with its “perennially underrated” Bohemia. “. . . but taken as a whole, beer culture in the Netherlands is tough to beat.”
But when it comes to exports, Mexico is the clear winner. And we’ll say it once again (and for the last time), “No era penal.”
Sources: El Economista (esp), Los Angeles Times (eng)
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