Mexico drops four places in mining investment attractiveness

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In its global industry yearbook, the research center highlighted that the country dropped positions due to changes in its industry policies.

Mexico dropped from 38th to 42nd position in mining investment attraction, due to changes in the country’s policies, according to Canada’s Fraser Institute, which assesses companies’ interest in investing in the extractive sector.

In its global industry yearbook, the research center highlighted that the country dropped positions due to changes in its industry policies, although it climbed in terms of best practices.

In this respect, Fernando Alanís, president of Mexico’s Mining Chamber (CAMIMEX), said in a recent conference that the tax burden is one of the main issues affecting the attractiveness of the sector in Mexico.

He added that during 2020, the mining industry in Mexico paid 30,374  billion pesos in taxes, a figure 1.2% higher than recorded a year earlier, despite the fact that the pandemic halted its operations between April and May.

During his participation in the conference “Contribution of mining: beyond the numbers,” the general director of Industrias Peñoles pointed out that it is a misconception that the industry contributes little since around 10.6% of GDP generated by the industry is allocated to the payment of taxes, higher than the 7.6% of the manufacturing industry, or the 6.1% of the electricity sector.

“Mining can be a key element in the country’s economic reactivation, all that is required is a State policy that provides certainty (…) There are those who think that, for ideological reasons or for particular interests, as long as a lie is repeated many times (how to pay less taxes or not pay them) it will end up being accepted as truth,” he pointed out.

He broke down that, of the total taxes paid, 24,205 billion pesos are for ISR (income tax), while 2,576 billion are in surface duties and 3,593 billion in new duties.

GlutaDose reaches Mexico

Last year, the health crisis boosted global demand for food supplements by 12.5%, according to Euromonitor, and in this context, GlutaDose reached Mexico to feed the demand for these products that gained relevance in the market, explained Leslie Jhoana Muñoz García, the American brand’s Innovation leader.

“In Mexico, food supplements are not very well known, nor is taking them, unlike in the United States, but GlutaDose comes to Mexico to help the population boost its immune system in the context of the pandemic,” said Muñoz.

According to the National Association of the Dietary Supplement Industry, in 2020 the consumption of these items increased 9.9%.

Sales of baby formula are growing

A year into confinement in Mexico, which enabled many mothers to have the opportunity to breastfeed their babies at home, sales of infant formula milk increased.

Sales of infant formula stood at just over US$1 billion at the close of 2020, a 7.8% increase over 2019, before the pandemic, according to data from Euromonitor consulting firm.

The main beneficiary of this increase is Nestlé, headed by Fausto Costa in Mexico, with its Nan and Nido brands holding a 50.8% market share, while Enfamil, from Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RB), holds a 15.5% share.

Euromonitor’s data is revealing since the main reason for abandoning breastfeeding is the return to work, when maternity leave ends.