Mexico's January economic activity increases 2.9%

Economic activity in Mexico increased 2.9% during January 2016 from the corresponding period in 2015. The rise in economic activity was due to a robust performance by three sectors in the country. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, the Global Indicator of Economic Activity (IGAE) rose by 2.9% in January 2016.

The nation's primary sector increased by 4.3% while the secondary and tertiary sectors increased by 1.8% and 4.3% respectively during the first month of the year 2016. The IGAE witnessed a sequential increase of 0.60% in January, helped by a 0.50% growth in the agricultural division, 1.2% increase in the manufacturing sector and 0.20% rise in the service division, as reported by FOXNEWS Latino.

The IGAE is just an initial measure of trends in an economic activity of a country and it does not comprise the entire economic sectors used for the calculation of GDP. The nation's gross domestic product increased 2.5% in 2015, up from 2.1% in 2014 and 1.4% in 2013. For the year 2016, the government expects GDP to increase in the range of 2.6% to 3.6%. While the nation's central bank is expecting GDP growth to be in the range of 2% to 3% in 2016.

Meanwhile, oil exports in Mexico dropped 45.8%, on an annualised basis, in February, when the trade scarcity amounted to $724.7 million. The nation's exports during February amounted to $29.02 billion, a decrease of 2.3% from the previous year period. However, non-petroleum exports increased to $27.89 billion in February, up 1% from January 2016. Mexico's imports also rose 2.2% to $29.74 billion from the corresponding period in 2015.

According to Reuters, exports of factory-made products in Mexico dropped 1.46% during February from the previous month. The factory growth in Mexico was burdened by poor factory production in the US during 2015. The country's February automobile exports dropped sequentially by 1.96%, the largest fall since August 2015. Exports of other factory goods declined 1.19% in February. On an adjusted basis, Mexico's trade scarcity amounted to $1.669 billion during the period.

Meanwhile, Mexico has opened its doors once again for fresh poultry meat from Canada. In 2004, the country closed to Canadian poultry meat products like the duck, chicken and turkey meat, citing an outbreak of Avian Influenza. Canada will gain roughly $3 million per year from this restored contact to the Mexican poultry market. But, still, Mexico holds some restrictions on Avian Influenza-related products, which the Canadian government is trying to remove from its meat exports, FOOD in CANADA said.

Lawrence MacAulay, minister of agriculture and agri-food of Canada, said, "We continue to work closely with industry to expand international markets for high-quality Canadian products. I look forward to our continued trade relationship in agriculture and food." The restored market access comes after the visit of Jose Calzada, Secretary of Agriculture in Mexico, to Canada in an effort to boost the relationship between the two nations with regard to agricultural trade.

The growth in Mexico's economic activity was helped by robust growth in the three economic sectors of the country. The government is implementing various strategies to reform its economic growth amid the weak global market.