The Blue Agave Tequilana Weber is the plant that gives life to tequila and the only species admitted as raw material by the Official Mexican Standard (NOM) for the production of our national drink. For the agave market, it has become one of the most important economic sectors in Mexico.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that is still being experienced in the country, the agave guild has had an upward trend because this sector has never stopped producing since, being considered an essential industry for the country's economy, it is efforts were redoubled and new strategies were launched to maintain the level of demand of an increasingly tequila market.
In 2011, almost 18 million Tequilana Weber plants were planted to cover the production of 2018. Years ago it was quoted at $10.00, today this indicator registers a maximum of up to $30.00 per kilogram, that is, it achieved an increase of 200 percent. hundred.
This historical maximum is derived from the high demand for production and the increase in exports that tequila has had in recent years.
According to data from the Council of Blue Agave Farmers of the State of Jalisco, tequila exports increased 16.3 percent during 2020, exporting a total of 286 million liters, which caused that last year a million 407 thousand tons of agave.
The main reason for this increase is due to the demand for the plant, which is also used for the manufacture and sale of products such as syrup and inulin. To ensure this raw material, the agave must have a maturation cycle that must comply with what is specified in the standard for its processing.
The production of tequila has grown greatly, with it the production of agave has grown, in addition, the exports of this spirit drink are growing more and more in countries like the United States, Australia, among others that have fallen in love with the drink and that has favored production to grow in a balanced way.
According to data recorded by the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), between January and May of this year, agave consumption was 569.7 thousand tons compared to 559.5 thousand that were consumed in the same period last year.
A promising future
Currently, a kilo of the medium-quality plant (which needs between six and eight years to mature) ranges from $24.00 per kilo (during the first half of 2021), while the high-quality sugar is sold for $26.00, but at According to the producers and experts in the field, it can reach up to $28.00 or decrease its price to $21.00.
According to the president of the Agave Azul Tequilana Weber Farmers Council, Raúl García Quirarte, each year, the 140 tequila factories installed in the Denomination of Origin zone demand 70 million blue agave plants for the production of the drink.
So much so that the inventories of mature agave that are now available are just what the industry requires, both the one that produces the distillate and those that use the plant for syrups and inulin.
In 2016, the price prompted tequila producers and agave producers to work together, work that has been reflected in consumption, not only nationally but globally, this means that the more 100 percent tequila produces, the more agave is needed and the more the industry grows, not only as a representative of the country for its colors and for the delicious taste of tequila, but also as one of the most economically promising.
Every plant is a business
There are many factors that affect the average price of a kilo of agave but, without a doubt, the ingenuity of Mexicans is evident in the way they acquire and place the raw material for tequila.
In such a way that the indicator of the kilo of agave will be linked to the economic moment of the producers but also to the market demand.
Agave experts assure that it reached its maximum price, but there are voices that maintain that it can rise from $5.00 to $10.00 pesos, depending on the orders that are reported to meet the demand for the second half of the year.
The blue agave has been a hallmark of Mexico, not only because of the beautiful landscapes that make up its Denomination of Origin, which is already considered a world heritage site.
In addition, it is thanks to the agave that we can taste the delicious tequila and not only that, now the agave industry has become a big business and a growing source of income in the country.
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