Thursday, January 8, 2026

Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo León are top exporting states

The northern states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo León came in as the top three exporting states during Q3 of 2022. 

According to Mexico’s statistics center INEGI, Chihuahua leads the ranking with exports by value amounting to US $20.15 billion. This means that from July 1 to Sept. 30, Chihuahua’s exports accounted for 14.9% of overall exports sales from Mexico.

Following were the states of Coahuila (11.6%), Nuevo León (10.2%), Baja California (10.1%) and Tamaulipas (6.4%). All together, these four states’ exports accounted for 53.2% of the country’s total.

Leading the list of states with the highest upturn compared to the same period of 2021, are Hidalgo, with a rise of  95.9% followed by Oaxaca (61.4%) Puebla (57.8%), Chiapas (52.1%) and Mexico City (46.4%). 

biotechnology business accelerator in Pachuca, Mexico
This biotechnology business accelerator in Pachuca is helping fuel a business growth spurt in Hidalgo, which saw the biggest growth as an exporter last year. (Photo: Government of Hidalgo)

By sector, manufacturers represented 89.6% of total exports, followed by the mining sector (including oil extraction) with 7.9%, and lastly agriculture with 2.5%.

Breaking it down, the transport equipment manufacturing subsector stood out for its contribution to the total value of the commodity’s exports. The states with the biggest exports were Coahuila (21.2 %), Guanajuato (12.2 %), Nuevo León (10.2 %), Puebla (9.4 %) and Chihuahua (8.4 %). Together, the leading states represented 61.4% of the good’s export value.

Coming in second was the electrical equipment sub-sector, representing 18.2% of all exports. Leading the ranking is Chihuahua, amounting for 46%, followed by Baja California, which came in second with a contribution value of 19.2%, and Jalisco (16.3%). Next were the northern states of Tamaulipas (7.9%) and Nuevo León (3.8%). 

Ranking third were two subsectors representing 6.2% each – the electrical appliances and equipment for electric power generation and oil and gas extraction. Amounting for 100% of exports in the gas and oil industry were the states of Campeche (59.3%), Tabasco (33.7%), Veracruz (4.7%), Chiapas (1.6%) and Tamaulipas (.6%).

Finally, the states of Michoacán (31.6%), Baja California (11.3%), Sinaloa (10.7%), Jalisco (6.8%) and Guanajuato (6.5%) led agricultural exports, representing 66.9% of the industry’s sales abroad. 

Tequila exports contribute to this sector, which reached a record high in 2022 with a 34.1% increase compared to the same period of 2021. 

With reports from INEGI, Aristegui Noticias and Norte Digital

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Downtown Mexico City

Citi survey: Banks predict 1.3% GDP growth, peso weakening to 19:1 in 2026

0
Growth forecasts for 2026 from 35 banks surveyed by Citi range from 0.6% to 1.8%, though estimates for 2027 range from 1% to 2.8% — a vote of confidence in Mexico's economy post-USMCA review.
Oil tanker

Why is Mexico suddenly Cuba’s biggest oil supplier?

8
The news that Mexico is the island nation's top oil supplier seems at odds with Trump's anti-Cuba agenda, but President Sheinbaum clarified Tuesday that shipment levels remain consistent with previous years.
telephone booth in operation

The CFE is bringing back the phone booth in rural Mexico

3
The new public phones operate simply: pick up the receiver, punch the number, talk, hang up. The major difference between the new ones and the old ones is that all calls are now free.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity