Glass supply issues in Mexico

Industries such as beverages, pharmaceutical and perfumery have faced a shortage of glass bottles due to a global increase in demand.

Glass production in Mexico is not enough cover the demand for manufacturers of beverages, food, perfumes and drugs. These industries are facing shortages and increasing prices for bottles and containers.

In the first quarter of 2022, production rose 7% while the demand for bottles grew 11% on average.

Mexican glass producers manufactured 5,317.3 million containers, an increase of 7.1% per year, after two years of contraction due to the pandemic, according to INEGI¹ data.

In the same period, the production of tequila grew 30.8% annually in volume. Sauces, mayonnaise and jams increased by 11.1%, while vials grew by 8.9% and beer expanded by 5.5%. This generated an average increase of 11% in the demand for containers.

Tequila producers gave the following reasons for the increase in demand, which they labelled as a “global” problem:

• The over-demand after COVID.
• Gas supply problems in Europe.
• Raw material expenses, which tripled the cost in logistics.
• Supply chain issues.
• Mexican manufactures having full schedules until 2023.

INEGI reports that the country’s 94 glass plants operate at an average capacity of 95%.

To increase their capacity Vitro and Vidrio Formas announced expansion of their plants towards 2023. Meanwhile, industries such as tequila, mezcal, breweries, sauces and perfumes have chosen to migrate to aluminium or plastic containers where possible.

Growth by industries graph

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1. The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to co-ordinate the national system of statistical and geographical information of the country.