Quintana Roo’s Nearshoring Boom: New Markets Await

Cancún — The concept of nearshoring, which involves the return of industries to Mexico, presents a "very large" opportunity for the country and especially for the state of Quintana Roo, though its realization requires more aggressive promotion and a strategic vision that looks beyond the United States.

Sergio León Cervantes, president of Empresarios por Quintana Roo, highlighted the necessity of actively promoting the available tools, such as the Polos de Bienestar from the Plan México, in markets like India, Colombia, and Brazil. In an interview with Radio Fórmula, he was emphatic in pointing out Quintana Roo's potential for nearshoring due to its connectivity.

The state boasts impressive global air connectivity, comparable only to Mexico City, and the proximity of Puerto Progreso, which is receiving increased investment, makes it an ideal platform for light industry.

Goods Can Reach Central America

From this port, goods can reach Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and even Europe within a timeframe of 20 to 25 days. However, to capitalize on this, the linkage between federal and state governments and the private initiative is fundamental to attract companies.

León Cervantes identified specific sectors to be developed in Quintana Roo, such as server production due to the growing demand for artificial intelligence and data storage, components for clean alternative energies (wind and solar), and the maquila of linens and appliances needed for the vast hotel industry.

Although nearshoring is not new for Mexico, which has experience in the aeronautical industry (since 1989 with Boeing) and the automotive industry in the center and north of the country, the south-southeast must work to attract that investment. Chetumal presents itself as the ideal point for this development, endorsed by its proximity to the border to take advantage of the free trade agreement with Central America (only 270 km away) and the manageable distance to the airports of Cancún (360-380 km) and, in the future, Tulum (200 km).

Maritime transport from any point on the peninsula to Puerto Progreso is about 420 km, which is even less than the distance from Manzanillo to Mexico City, evidencing the region's logistical advantage.

A crucial point for competitiveness is the consolidation of the Tren Maya in its cargo function. The businessman emphasized that the fundamental part of a train is the movement of goods.

Tren Maya

If the cargo operation of the Tren Maya is successfully realized, transportation costs from the center and north of the country could be reduced by between 40 and 50 percent. This would increase purchasing power, make local industry more competitive, and facilitate exports to the United States and Canada, given the connection of the Mexican railway network.

Regarding the challenges, he admitted that salaries in the state, influenced by tourism tips, complicate competition in the industrial sector. Nevertheless, he proposes a pragmatic approach: first attract industry with incentives (as was done 50 years ago to consolidate Quintana Roo) so that they begin training people, and subsequently complement this with an industrial academic model.

The goal is to generate value-based salaries, not low ones, based on knowledge and product quality.

Finally, the diversification of markets becomes a priority given the economic and political uncertainty with the United States, especially in a context where air connectivity problems in that country are generating daily losses and affecting tourism in Quintana Roo.

"Bottleneck"

Although the US consumer has an unmatched spending capacity, the risk of depending on a single market forces a look towards other places such as Europe, the Caribbean, and South America to avoid a "bottleneck."

Looking ahead to 2026, which will be a year with the Soccer World Cup, the call is to boost tourism promotion and, in parallel, consolidate the industrial strategy by attracting investors who already have experience to trigger the Recinto Fiscalizado Estratégico and the Polos del Bienestar.