Mexico’s Exports and Imports Rose More Than 40 Percent Annually in July

ByClara Zepeda

This article by Clara Zepeda originally appeared in the August 27, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. In July 2026, Mexico’s foreign trade in goods with the rest of the world surged: total exports rose 43.7 percent year over year and total imports 45 percent compared with the same month last year, driving both to a record value, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

Manufacturing exports and non-oil intermediate goods imports stood out in July.

According to the preliminary foreign trade data, the merchandise trade balance returned to a deficit in July 2026, of 847.5 million dollars, after posting a surplus in June (4.0899 billion).

The value of merchandise exports reached 81.42 billion dollars in July, representing an increase of 43.7 percent compared with the same month of 2025. This was due to a 45 percent annual rise in non-oil exports, in which those bound for the United States rose 49.8 percent and those channeled to the rest of the world 21 percent. Likewise, 84.51 percent go to the United States and 15.49 percent to the rest of the world.

Extractive exports rose 87.1 percent in July compared with the same month last year, while manufactures rose 45.7 percent, with non-automotive manufactures standing out, surging 64.9 percent.

The value of manufactured goods exports was 76.306 billion dollars in the seventh month of the year, a 45.7 percent annual increase. The most significant gains were seen in exports of electrical and electronic equipment and appliances, up 134 percent; metals and mining products (27.3 percent); special-purpose machinery and equipment for various industries (13.9 percent); plastic and rubber products (13.3 percent); and automotive products (2.4 percent).

The annual increase in automotive product exports resulted from a 3.7 percent rise in sales channeled to the United States and a 3.9 percent drop in those bound for other markets.

In July 2026, the value of merchandise imports was 82.268 billion dollars, an annual increase of 45 percent.

Intermediate-use goods worth 67.132 billion were imported, 56.3 percent more than reported in July 2025. In turn, this figure resulted from increases of 57.7 percent in imports of non-oil intermediate-use goods and 36.3 percent in oil intermediate-use goods.

Capital goods imports, for their part, reached 5.607 billion dollars, an annual gain of 9.9 percent.

In the month in question, consumer goods imports came to 9.529 billion dollars, a figure representing an annual rise of 9.8 percent. That rate resulted from increases of 2.6 percent in imports of non-oil consumer goods and 50.4 percent in oil consumer goods (gasoline and butane and propane gas).

In the January–July 2026 period, the value of total exports summed 471.387 billion dollars, a 27.7 percent annual increase. That rate reflected a 28.7 percent rise in non-oil exports and a 1.1 percent decline in oil exports.

The accumulated value of total imports, for its part, was 462.132 billion, 25.6 percent higher than observed in the first seven months of last year. Within it, non-oil imports rose 26.3 percent and oil imports 16.3 percent, on an annual basis.

For the first seven months of 2026, the trade balance posted a surplus of 9.255 billion dollars. In the same period of 2025 it was 1.176 billion.