How does CANACINTRA serve the Mexican industrial sector?

CANACINTRA is one of the oldest chambers in Mexico, and was founded with the mission of representing the interests of the industrial sector. CANACINTRA is a national chamber of the processing industry, with a headquarters that brings together 76 different delegations from all over Mexico. We are the State of Mexico delegation and we are located in Toluca. One of our strengths is that we have visibility throughout the national territory through 12 sectors, including the food sector, the plastic sector, the automotive sector, the metalworking sector and the chemical sector, among others.

The services we offer can be divided into four main parts: being an interlocutor with the authorities, business linking, information generators and strategies to improve competitiveness.

What are your priorities in terms of government relations?

The 76 delegations are represented by a national president, who has a particular agenda with the federal authorities regarding priority issues of the industry. At the local level, we help companies in managing the procedures that are necessary for their state and municipal operations. 

Why is the capital-intensive structure of the industry a challenge in the context of nearshoring?

The main problem of the chemical industry when it comes to offshoring is that it is a capital-intensive industry and the establishment of new operating units is very complex. The decisions made by global companies regarding the transfer of chemical plants from other parts of the world to Mexico are truly complex and are decisions that normally take years. Many of these players are rooted in plants in China, India or the US. The decision to move to Mexico has to be a long-term supply chain issue. In this sense, one of the biggest challenges for the chemical industry in Mexico is how to insert itself into these positive nearshoring trends as a capital-intensive industry.

It is important to note that when an industry is capital intensive, it requires access to credit on preferential terms. Not all industries, especially those in Mexico, have access to credit conditions that offer an opportunity to compete.

What is needed for a better national energy matrix?

Mexico needs to invest much more in transmission lines and energy generation. For example, today, transmission generates real bottlenecks that lead to blackouts in some areas of the country.    It is not strange to find Industrial Parks or companies in some industrial areas that require more energy than what is currently supplied.   

Another priority is the generation of much cleaner energy. We know that many companies are very focused on meeting the SDGs and are increasingly seeking access to clean energy sources. Mexico's energy matrix depends on natural gas coming from the shale gas in the US; Mexico has taken advantage of the shale gas boom in the region, and a lot of pipes have been constructed and are currently in construction; but a lot of investment will also be required in other energy sources, such as solar, wind, etc. and technologies that can support to manage its intermittency, such as storage with new generation batteries.

I believe we will see a lot of investments related to energy in Mexico in the upcoming decades; the industry will need more competitive access to energy, and the solution to this equation is genuinely complex. I think the solution lies in the combination of current energy sources and new technologies currently being developed/implemented worldwide. The path to the zero-emission goals will not be as quick and absolute as thought. 

What are CANACINTRA's priorities for 2024?

We are working to achieve the objectives of our 2030 agenda. This year we will inaugurate our Energy Efficiency Club, introducing our members to technologies and good practices to help them implement and achieve greater energy efficiency. We are doing similar work with water efficiency. One of our beliefs is that the more informed the industrial sector is, the better decisions it will make, and providing that information is one of CANACINTRA's central functions.

Overall, our goal is to continue strengthening our membership base to gain greater representation. The other core focus is to stay close to our members, continue to build the tools and channels to understand what they need and generate those needs.