Made in Yucatán

Xtabentún

Take a guess. How many products do you think are produced in Yucatán? Take another guess. If you said more than 1,500 products, you are right! In how many countries do you think these products can be found? Take a guess. If you mentioned Japan, USA, Germany, Cuba, and Spain you are right again! These products include furniture, food, beverages, stonework, handcrafts, honey and pollen products, terraza tiles, henequen and textiles.

The local government is not only promoting Yucatecan products worldwide, they are also in the process of intense permanent promotion locally. With this strong plan, they are proving to be quite successful protecting thousands of local jobs along with helping to strengthen small and medium sized businesses in Mérida and the state.

A product is considered Yucatecan when it is produced or manufactured with 100% Yucatecan labor, independently of whether the investors are local, national or foreign.   Over the years it has been proven time and time again that Yucatecan hand labor is highly specialized making the state a very attractive place for foreign investment. Proof of this is the investors from Italy, Spain and Central America that are currently manufacturing here in Yucatán.

Yucatecan food and beverage products can be found in Sam’s, Soriana and Comercial Mexicana supermarkets along with Fenix supermarkets in Veracruz.

Speaking of furniture, it is interesting to note that 7.5% of all the containers that are exported from Progreso contain furniture.

As for handcrafts, the most popular products are textiles, such as embroidered regional dress that include ternos and huipiles as well as men’s guayabera dress shirts.

The Moctezuma Beer Company that has its head offices in Laredo, Texas, is a prime example of a North American company that imports important quantities of Yucatecan products that include botanas, fried snacks, Mexican chocolate for hot chocolate, salsas and henequen fiber “soskil” for washing dishes, pots and pans.

Josefina Contreras, VP of the Moctezuma Company says that the company she represents travels throughout Mexico and other countries looking for products that meet their quality and price standards. She says that the Yucatecan products are being accepted, confirming that they are quality products and can compete worldwide.