I'm a little late posting this, but last week Bimbo, Mexico's largest food company, acquired the bakery unit of Sara Lee. This is huge news. Bimbo has been buying up smaller bakeries for awhile now, but the purchase of Sara Lee's bakery division makes Bimbo a force to reckon with globally.
Some details of the deal:
Grupo Bimbo will pay Sara Lee $959 million USD for its bakery division
All of Sara Lee bakery units 13,000 employees will be transferred over to Bimbo and it is reported that no domestic employees will lose their jobs.
The deal includes 41 US plants and the rights to the Sara Lee brand in fresh baked goods globally, excluding Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Bimbo's 2009 revenue was $8.6 billion USD
The deal is expected to finalize in the first part of 2011
On March 1st, the US had placed a ban on imports of Mexican shrimp due to complaints that Mexican shrimpers were not respecting the sea turtles.
As of last week, the US recertified Mexican wild shrimp for import into the US. This is great news for Mexican shrimpers because the majority of their exports went to the United States. Mexican shrimp exports will also help cover the shortage due to the Gulf oil spill.
According to FIS News (Fish Information & Services), "Mexican authorities designed and launched the Emerging Plan for the Proper Use of devices for the exclusion of sea turtles (TED) and the Work Programme 2010-2012, which will enable the country to have a regional model for the shrimp industry."
Those of you who have read my blog for awhile know that I am a big proponent of getting healthier foods into Mexico and have been following the changes in the schools closely. Well, today I read a headline in El Universal that literally made my jaw drop. "75% of hospital beds occupied because of obesity" - GDF: The health system collapses because of obesity epidemic.
This is not a prediction, this is a sad reality. The minister of Health in Mexico City has said that in 5 to 10 years the number of patients in hospitals as a result of obesity could be so great that the public health system would collapse. The article also goes on to mention the over 5 million children that are categorized as obese. The rates of juvenile diabetes are skyrocketing, and if things don't change soon the numbers will continue to grow and this children's lives will be forever changed.
Mexico has been hesitant to make changes in these areas, but these figures do not lie.
Here is a great piece by TIME Magazine that highlights the obesity problem in Mexico:
According to ANTAD (Mexican association of retailers), retailers are moving away from junk food and offering consumers healthier snacks. This move comes as no surprise as Mexico is leading the world in obesity and has a rapidly increasing rate of diabetes.
In a recent article in El Universal, it was reported that Mexicans spend an estimated $1.93 billion pesos on soft drinks every year. That amounts to over 300 million 12 packs!!!
Soft drink companies in Mexico have not been hurt by the financial downturn, in fact, sales last year rose over 11%.
Mexico is behind the US and Europe in its move to offer healthier, more natural food items, but it won't be long before they catch up. One Mexican company has even developed a vending machine that sells cut up fruits and vegetables.
