- The 5 most important economic activities in San Luis Potosí
- 1- Mining
- 2- The manufacture of machinery
- 3- Food manufacturing
- 4- The construction
- 5- Agriculture
- References
The main economic activities in San Luis Potosí are machinery manufacturing, mining, food manufacturing, construction, and agriculture.
Like many of the Mexican states that surround Mexico City, the most profitable economic activities in San Luis Potosí center on the growth of the manufacturing industry.
Specifically, the economy of San Luis Potosí has a high level of foreign investment due to the boom in automobile manufacturing in the country, driven by cheap labor and proximity to the prosperous US market.
You may also be interested in the traditions of San Luis Potosí or its history.
The 5 most important economic activities in San Luis Potosí
1- Mining
Although the importance of the mining industry has been overtaken by the manufacturing industry, it continues to contribute a significant portion to the state's economy.
Some of the minerals that are currently extracted from Potosine mines are zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver.
Mexico is the second country in terms of fluoride production, only surpassed by China. Fluoride is an extremely important mineral in manufacturing.
Aside from producing it exuberantly, the Las Cuevas mines in San Luis de Potosí provide the purest and most valuable fluoride in the world.
2- The manufacture of machinery
Since 1970, American and Asian machinery companies, especially in the automobile industry, have been developing production facilities in Mexico.
San Luis Potosí is one of the states whose economy has improved the most due to this trend.
This is due to its location near Mexico City and also close to highways with quick access to the borders with the United States.
Product manufacturing is mainly focused on cars and currently encompasses more than 25% of the state's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It is also very influential indirectly, as many other types of economic activity, such as higher education and construction, have flourished to support large numbers of employees and these companies.
3- Food manufacturing
Most of the foreign companies that operate in San Luis Potosí are interested in creating factories for machinery.
But there are also some companies that use the high concentration of employees in food factories.
Among the companies that have plants in this state are La Costeña, a Mexican international canned food corporation; and Ball Corporation, one of the largest producers of food packaging in the world.
Grupo Herdez also stands out, a fairly important food processor in North America that has its headquarters in the capital city, which bears the same name as the state.
4- The construction
Currently San Luis Potosí is experiencing a housing shortage in its capital city.
Rapid population growth, drawn internally and externally by the local high quality of life and abundant employment, has created the need for homes.
Apart from residential, industrial construction is also required. In 2017, the Ford company has stopped its plans to build a new car factory in the state, but other corporations continue to create new buildings.
5- Agriculture
It would be easy to ignore agriculture, which contributes less than 2% to the state's GDP each year. However, this situation is repeated in most of the manufacturing centers that surround the Federal District.
It is important to note that 20% of the population still works in this economic sector, so its impact on Potosí society is great.
Agricultural employment often pays very little and provides few opportunities for social betterment. Therefore, San Luis Potosí is noted as one of the places in Mexico with the greatest economic inequality.
That is why the local government intends to modernize this sector of the economy and create more jobs in the area for the natives.
As long as Mexico continues to define itself by its cheap labor force and the United States economy remains healthy, the economic importance of states such as San Luis Potosí and other areas on the outskirts of the Federal District will continue to grow.
References
- Burton, T. (January 1, 1998). The mining towns of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Recovered from mexconnect.com
- Otieno, MO (October 4, 2017). List of Countries by Fluorite Production. Recovered from worldatlas.com
- Ministry of Economy. (2017). Why Invest in San Luis Potosi? Recovered from mim.promexico.gob.mx
- Ball Corporation. (December 13, 2017). Ball Corporation Completes Acquisition of Extruded Aluminum Packaging Facility in Mexico.
- Oxford Business Group. (November 11, 2017). Investment Opportunities in San Luis Potosi´s Construction Sector. Retired from oxfordbusinessgroup.com