Mexico Exports Tequila, Its Traditional Drink, To China

The Ministry of Agriculture in México unveiled its plans to enter the Chinese market with about 10 million liters of tequila in a five-year period, which will place China as the second biggest consumer destination below the United States.

According to Mexican newspaper Milenio, the first tequila shipment is expected to land in the Asian country on Friday.

Quoted by the newspaper, the ministry stated in a press release: "The export expectation of the agave drink to the Chinese market is 10 million liters in the next five years, so the Asian nation will become the second most important trading destination".

The President of China, Xi Jinping, visited Mexico last June during a trip in which both countries were able to reach agreements and made work links in the Chinese market in order to export the Mexican drink and also pork meat.

Enrique Martinez, head of the Ministry of Agriculture, was in charge of closing deals in China to ensure tequila could reach Asian ground smoothly. The minister said it marked "the beginning of a new trading phase where demand in the food market is of high potential.".

Milenio explained that the first shipment is loaded with about 6,938 boxes with 9 containers of tequila made with 100 percent agave, which are estimated to have a market value of almost 5.5 millions pesos, which will be used to benefit regions in Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.

The Tequila Regulatory Council General Director, Ramon Gonzalez Figueroa, stated that after the positive response Mexico had with China, it's possible to make new associations and working groups in order to implement campaigns for the introduction of the Mexican Tequila within territories where the product is unknown. The news website noted that in 2012, Mexico exported nearly 410,000 liters of tequila to China, but the drink was not made with 100 percent agave.

The ministry also plans to start exporting various products to the Asian market such as lemons, berries, mangoes, beef, fruits, nuts and other plant products.