Coronavirus already affects the electronics industry in Mexico
Due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Mexican electronics manufacturing industry has been delayed or even canceled due to the closure of factories in China.
The spread of the coronavirus already affects the Mexican electronics manufacturing industry, as the import of Chinese components has been delayed or even canceled, due to the closure of factories in the Asian country. "The lack of Chinese suppliers has resulted in many manufactures in Mexico decreasing or even stopping production lines," warned Bernardo Fernandez, general director of the Center for Electrical Research and Complet.
In a statement, he explained that this is compounded by the increased cost of freight, as a container with 40 tons of Chinese products to Manzanillo (Colima) cost 1,800 dollars and now costs 5,000 dollars. Jorge Morones, director of the Mexico-China Chamber of Commerce in Jalisco, said that very few containers manage to leave the Asian country. Usually, he explained, the automotive industry asks large Chinese suppliers for their products, however, now there is a risk in Mexican companies that already paid in advance several orders to smaller suppliers in China.
In addition, Mexican companies that have managed to receive containers in Manzanillo are afraid to open them and even ask to be disinfected. According to data from the Bank of Mexico, imports from China in Mexico total $83 billion dollars annually. With the situation derived from the coronavirus, there is a possibility that they are lower, but that will be known until the next few months when official figures are released, added Morones.
However, the specialist from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Alicia Giron Gonzalez, considered that the epidemic of the new coronavirus Covid-19 is an excellent opportunity to grow the economy of Mexico. In a press conference on Wednesday, she explained that this new virus has the potential to damage the global economy because China, the country of origin of the outbreak, is an important part of exports and imports of inputs worldwide.
She indicated that the ideal would be to raise the need for many inputs coming from China, to be produced here. "I think it would be a great opportunity, even just taking the automotive industry, so that instead of importing these products (?) they can be remedied in Mexico," she said.
