Guanajuato exports surge ahead
Exports from the Mexican city of Guanajuato have increased ten-fold since 1992, according to Gerardo Guapo Campos, joint director for International Trade Support at COFOCE - Coordinating Body for the Promotion of Foreign Trade in the footwear and leather producing state of Guanajuato.
In 1992, Guanajuato had approximately 150 exporting businesses whose sales in the international marketplace amounted to $175 million. By 2000, this figure had risen to $1.6 billion. In 2001, they rose to nearly $8 billion, including sales by multinational companies such as General Motors. Between 80% and 85% of those transactions were carried out by such companies.
In contrast, the footwear producing city of last year, León, had 568 registered exporters. By July 2002, this figure was down to 410. By mid-2001, León exports amounted to $250 million. By the end of the first semester of 2002 they were up 3% to $257 million. Amongst the largest exporting sectors were the shoe industry with a 30% share of total exports; the leather sector with 13% and the textile and garment industry with 14%.
The Mexican leather and footwear sector says that it is under attack on two fronts, from the overvaluation of the local currency that has eroded its competitiveness in export markets, and from the increasing flood of cheap far eastern imports in the domestic market. The León Chamber of the Footwear Industry has repeatedly reported that many factories have closed down in the last few months or are in the process of doing so, with the loss of thousands of jobs.
