Mexico Market Insights And Opportunities

Well Mexico I think is a really dynamic market and one that Australian companies are probably not aware of. It's a population of approximately 115 million people, the average age of the population is 26 years old, and there's a growing middle class which really means that in the next 20 years or so there'll be a major boom in consumption. Well certainly like the rest of Latin America, mining is a big sector of opportunity for Australian companies in Mexico, particularly for the MET sector but also as potential investors. In fact Mexico last year received more investment in its exploration than any other country in Latin America. But I think Australian companies have started off in the southern cone of South America, certainly with a strong presence in Chile and Peru, and perhaps they think that the Mexican market is dominated by Canada and the United States, but in reality there are lots of opportunities for Australian mining companies in niche technologies and including in training services to the mining sector. Well water is a major challenge for Mexico at the moment. According to International Climate Centre predictions much of Mexico will be suffering from severe water stress by 2025, and as well as droughts Mexico also suffers from significant flooding in different parts of the country. Apart from that there are issues with water pollution, water contamination, groundwater and issues of urban water management that are problematic throughout many of the cities of Mexico. Well the Mexican government that came into office in December last year has really made infrastructure development the priority. Some analysts think that Mexico could become one of the world's six largest economies by 2050 but in order to do that the country really needs to improve its infrastructure. This government that we have in Mexico at the moment is looking at some major infrastructure projects for road, rail, airport and even hydraulic infrastructure, and a lot of that will be done through public-private partnerships. Mexico is undergoing rapid economic growth but one of the problems the country is finding is that the students who come out of its universities don't necessarily have the skills that its industry requires. This I think is a real opportunity for Australian training providers, particularly those who are able to put together in market packages for the corporate sector. Mexico is a country where interpersonal relationships are important generally and that certainly applies to the business space. So it's not really enough just to manage a relationship from a distance or think that you can do a deal by telephone or by email, it's really important to visit the market, get to know the customer and build up that relationship as a precursor to getting the deal done. Austrade has a team in Mexico which has plenty of experience in the local environment. We use our badge of government access, which really means that as a government agency we can get companies access to high levels of government and senior business people and industry representatives. Our team also has very good language skills and cultural sensitivity which really enables them to help your company find the right customers for its business in Mexico