It’s no secret that tequila was the hottest spirit of 2022, and emerging economic data from the past year further backs up its trending status.
According to The Ministry of Economy and the Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA), tequila exports amounted to $3.6 billion USD between January and October 2022 — a 34.1 percent jump year-over-year.
In 2012, Mexico’s tequila exports amounted to just $849 million, indicating a massive market increase over the past decade.
Beer remains Mexico’s top export (recording $5 billion between January-October 2022) but a rise in premiumization and newly-emerging markets may account for tequila’s faster growth. While the tequila export market grew by over 34 percent this year, beer exports recorded a growth of just 8.9 percent over the same period.
According to a Dec. 26 article by Mexico News Daily, Diageo projects the premium spirits industry to gain “600 million likely new customers by 2032,” spurred by increased incomes and expanding budgets. The spirits corporation estimates that some 50 percent of U.S. households currently buy spirits each year.
This isn’t the first time that the numbers have signaled booming consumer interest in the agave spirit. Drinkers are increasingly choosing premium tequila over vodka in the U.S. nightlife scene, according to a December report by CGA by NielsonIQ. Blanco tequila is an especially popular call at the club — in 2022, Los Angeles establishments recorded a 127 percent increase in consumption volume, compared to last year.
For tequila producers in Mexico — and industry professionals across the world — 2023 is looking bright.
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