We recently prepared detailed market intelligence for an NC company to identify 16 large plants in Mexico that produce sportswear and medical textiles. A little bit more about the textile industry in Mexico: in some ways it suffered around the year 2000 a similar fate related to global offshoring compared to what NC did. With operations shifting to ultra-low-cost production in the global south, textiles in Mexico consolidated with a stronger focus on innovation including for the automotive industry and technical apparel. It still does apparel and staple textiles but not in the volumes it did in the past. Those operations are largely denim and workwear maquiladoras producing for the US.
Major textile hubs in Mexico are in traditional centers such as Puebla and Leon but have expanded outward to Aguascalientes and Tlaxcala to attend to the automotive clusters in those regions. There are also maquiladora operations producing for export to the US in northern Mexico. Kaltex, Grupo Sieto Leguas, CIMACO, Hilaturas Los Angeles, Santista Textil Mexico, Grupo Denim, Textiles Parras, and Grupo Indistrial Miro are the country’s most important mills. About 500 thousand people work in the textile sector, and there are over 600 mills in total with output of about 4% of Mexico’s GDP. Fabric production has about 1.8 billion dedicated square meters, and 25 percent of total textile production in Mexico is about 25%. Annual growth rate is reported at 5 percent.
A recent investment reported is a 25-million USD plant in Hidalgo to produce organic cotton yarns and fabrics. Employing over 500 people, the plant is part of the family-owned company Zagis. With this investment, Zagis will increase its production capacity from 170 to 200 tons of yarn per day. The plant, inaugurated in December 2023, is one of the largest, most modern, and efficient in Mexico. Rafael Zaga Saba is the CEO of Zagis. The most significant operational cost, after raw materials, is electricity, and the company has made provisions for efficient energy, and a portion of the company’s energy is self-produced by a hydroelectric plant located in Veracruz. The company currently holds nine sustainability certifications across its value chain, which helped secure an 4 million USD green loan from BBVA bank.
Textile exports: Often the best-capitalized Mexican companies are producing for export, primarily to the US
Exported Products: Mexico mainly exports apparel, yarns, fabrics and apparel products. Apparel, especially cotton and synthetic clothing, accounts for a large portion of exports. The United States is the main destination for Mexican textile exports (90% of product by dollar value), followed by Latin America and Europe. From 2022 to 2023, textile and apparel industry exports increased 2%, from 9.1 to 9.3 billion USD. During 2023, of the industry’s total exports, 23% corresponded to textile products and 77% to apparel products. Mexico primarily imports man-made staple fibers from the US (321 million USD in 2023) and China (191 million USD). India, Taiwan, Viet Nam and Korea are also relevant suppliers of fibers. Imports from Germany in 2023 in this category were about 13 million USD worth.
Sources: www.trademap.org, sixmexico.com/blog/textile-mills-in-mexico, mexicoindustry.com/noticia/inaugura-zagis-nueva-planta-textilera-en-hidalgo and www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/productos/prod_serv/contenidos/espanol/bvinegi/productos/nueva_estruc/889463918141.pdf