The annual Cinco de Mayo festival can lead to a near-term boost in U.S. consumption of iconic Mexican food and beverages such as tequila. So far supply chains have not yet been disrupted by the reallocation of border personnel by the Trump administration to immigration duties rather than customs, as outlined in Panjiva’s research of Apr. 3.

Indeed, the U.S. has become an even more important market for Mexican tequila exporters. In 2018 the U.S. represented 70.3% of Mexico’s $1.94 billion of tequila shipments, Panjiva data shows. In 1Q 2019 shipments to the U.S. rose 19.1% year over year, while shipments to the rest of the world actually fell such that total tequila exports fell 0.3%.

Chart segments Mexican exports of tequila by destination on a monthly and 12-month average basis.  Source: Panjiva

The largest exporter globally in the 12 months to Mar. 31 was Becle’s Casa Cuervo with $258 million of shipments. It has become less popular though with shipments in 1Q down 5.1% year over year. It is being steadily overhauled by Beam Suntory’s Tequila Sauza, Bacardi’s Patron and Diageo’s Don Julio and DeLeon brands which saw growth of 18.2%, 41.7% and 43.6% respectively.

Chart segments Mexican exports of tequila by shipper on a three-month rolling average basis.  Source: Panjiva