In January 2026, the shipment of Mexican products abroad maintained the positive trend with which it closed 2025, when in December of last year it registered an annual increase of 17.2 percent, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) .
According to figures from the Mexican Merchandise Trade Balance (BCMM), in the first month of 2026, Mexican exports totaled 48 billion 008 million dollars (mdd) , which meant an increase of 8.1% compared to the same month of 2025.
Meanwhile, the trade balance showed a deficit of $6.481 billion , which compares to a surplus of $2.430 billion in December 2025.
Export performance
The increase in Mexican exports stemmed from a 9.8% rise in non-oil exports and a 33.5% decrease in oil exports. Within non-oil exports, those destined for the United States increased by 7.9% year-on-year, while those destined for the rest of the world rose by 19.6% annually.
In the first month of 2026, the value of exports of manufactured products was 43,508 million dollars , representing an advance of 9.4% year-on-year.
The most significant advances were observed in exports of machinery and special equipment for various industries with 65.8%, mining and metallurgy products with 29.9%, metal products for domestic use with 7.3%, and electrical and electronic equipment and appliances with 2.5 percent.
Meanwhile, exports of automotive products showed an annual drop of 9% , which resulted from a decrease of 16.7% in sales channeled to the United States and an increase of 35.9% in those directed to other markets.
In January 2026, the value of agricultural and fisheries exports was US$1.858 billion , representing an 11.6 percent year-on-year decrease. The most significant year-on-year declines were recorded in tomato (34.1%), cucumber (22.9%), and avocado (22.4%) exports.
In the reference month, the structure of the value of merchandise exports was manufactured goods 90.6%, agricultural goods 3.9%, non-oil extractive products 3.2%, and oil products 2.3 percent.
According to the results of Inegi, in January 2026 the northern neighbor concentrated 82.31% of the total exports that Mexico made to the foreign market , with a percentage variation of 7.9% compared to December 2025, and of 8.8% compared to January of last year.
Import behavior
In January 2026, the value of merchandise imports was $54,489 million , representing an annual growth of 9.8 percent.
In the month under comparison, imports of consumer goods totaled $6.988 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.8 percent. Meanwhile, imports of intermediate goods reached $43.123 billion, 14.2% higher than the figure reported in January 2025.
Imports of capital goods reached 4.379 billion dollars , which implied an annual decline of 4.4 percent.
During the cycle, the structure of the value of imports was intermediate goods 79.2%, consumer goods 12.8%, and capital goods 8 percent.
Mexican foreign trade figures, especially in exports, reveal the dynamism that the country has in the North American economy, although on several occasions, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has rejected the entry into the United States of Mexican products and those of other nations by imposing tariffs on them.
Understanding the trade balance is important, as it is a key indicator of a country’s economic health, reflecting the difference between exports and imports, and revealing aspects such as economic growth and competitiveness in international trade.
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