Supply chain and logistics bottlenecks characterized 2021 and highlighted the importance of strengthening local production. In Mexico, the re-regionalization of supply chains offers a golden opportunity to take advantage of the country’s inherent advantages – its geographical location, an abundance of young talent, and competitive labor costs. However, a lack of feedstock supplied by Pemex has resulted in Mexico becoming a net importer of petrochemical products, which has constrained chemical industry growth.

In 2022, the government proposed a highly controversial constitutional reform that aims to give a greater share of electricity production to the CFE (Federal Electricity Commission). This threatens to not only push energy costs up, but also increase carbon emissions. On the other hand, the announcement that Pemex will work with Braskem Idesa to build a US$400 million ethane import terminal, provides a blueprint for the type of public/private partnership that can help Mexico rejuvenate a sector that is becoming increasingly relevant in the energy transition. 

Perhaps the biggest theme uniting the sector is the inevitable rise of sustainability-driven products and investments. In this sense, Mexico’s private sector is swimming with the current, as a global transformation in the chemical sector takes place led by consumer trends for greener products