Mexico eyes tax cut for reusable beer bottles
Mexico is proposing to tax beer sold in reusable bottles at a lower rate than for disposable cans and bottles, in a bid to twist the arms of brewers Modelo and Femsa to sell more environmentally friendly products.
Under the budget the government sent to Congress late Monday, Mexico plans to tax beer served in reusable bottles, such as Modelo’s Corona or Femsa’s Carta Blanca, at a rate 72 percent lower than the rate for disposable bottles and cans.
The proposal would have to be passed by the opposition-controlled Congress, which has in the past blocked some tax tweaks proposed by the government of President Vicente Fox.
“The initiative seeks to support the environment by promoting that the beer industry uses reusable containers of better quality and longer life so that the amount of garbage generated is reduced,” the budget document said.
“What is being proposed is a tax with an ecological slant, because obviously disposable bottles create a major problem across the country,” said Jose Luis Flores, a deputy with the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
Beer produced or imported into Mexico would be taxed at a rate of 3 pesos ($0.28) per liter, but beer sold in reusable bottles would be taxed at a rate of only 1.74 pesos per liter, according to the proposal.
More: alertnet.org
Mexico offers spicy beer drink michelada to U.S.
Now that Americans have become accustomed to sticking lime wedges in their beers, Mexican companies are hoping they will start reaching for cold ones with a spicy kick.
Brewers, distributors and a company peddling a pre-made mix are trying to cash in on the michelada — beer served with lime juice, assorted sweet-and-sour spices, chile pepper, ice and a salted rim — which has been a best seller south of the border for decades.
"The michelada isn't new for Mexico, but in the United States it's something special, something they only began to try recently
Mexico's Grupo Modelo plans beer price hike
Grupo Modelo, a Mexican brewery half owned by Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., plans to raise its beer prices in Mexico Jan. 1, according to published reports.
The increase will be in line with expected inflation, the Mexico City-based brewer reportedly said in a Dec. 23 filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange. Modelo also said the increase takes into account tax law changes favoring recycled containers.
Mexico's annual inflation rate fell to 2.9 percent at the end of November but is expected to climb to 3.5 percent by many fund managers, according to media reports.
Grupo Modelo
In Mexico, Taking Fizz Out of the Cola Giants
The founders of the upstart cola maker Ajegroup know a thing or two about guerrilla marketing.
When Shining Path rebels took to hijacking Coca-Cola Co. trucks in the late 1980s during Peru's civil war, the Ananos family started peddling its own line of soft drinks in recycled beer bottles to meet local demand. Today the company controls more than one-fifth of the cola market in Peru.
Ajegroup is still taking potshots at Coke, but the battle has shifted north to Mexico, where the Peruvians are once again making gains through unorthodox methods. In a
Mexico's Modelo 4th-qtr net drops 22 pct
No. 1 Mexican brewer Modelo, maker of Corona beer, said on Monday its fourth-quarter net profit declined 22 percent as it was hit by higher tax payments, although a jump in exports boosted sales.
Modelo (GMODELOC.MX: Quote, Profile, Research), half-owned by U.S. brewer Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc. (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said its October-December net profit was 1.348 billion pesos ($127 million).
Revenue rose 6.8 percent to 12.133 billion pesos, aided by another expansion in exports, mainly to the United States, where Corona is the top selling imported beer. ($1 = 10.6271 pesos at end December)
Category 3 Hurricane Katrina Eyes Gulf Of Mexico Coast
New Orleans, Louisiana--Hurricane Katrina, is a Category 3 hurricane as predicted by Bayoubuzz meteorologist, Ed Roy. The storm is moving westward through the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico at a clip of 7 to 11 miles per hour, the Gulf Coast guessing game begins. The Katriana Eye at 8 a.m. EST was near latitude 24.4 North and Longitude 11 KM/Hr.
The slow moving storm has maximum sustained winds near 116 MPH and with higher gusts. A gradual turn toward the west-northwest is expected during the next 24 hours.
Hurricane forces
Sleeman strikes marketing deal with maker of Mexico's Sol, Dos Equis beers
Sleeman Breweries Ltd. is joining forces with Mexican beer maker Femsa Cerveza to sell, market and distribute Sol and Dos Equis brands in Canada.
Canada's third-largest beer producer - behind giants Labatt and Molson Coors - did not release financial terms of the collaboration, which begins Jan. 1.
"This is a great opportunity and we look forward to working with this world-renowned and respected global brewer," chief executive John Sleeman said Friday.
Femsa Cerveza, Mexico's No. 2 brewer, is a subsidiary of Femsa, the largest beverage company in Latin
BasÃlica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
The origin of its cult goes back to the year of 1531. The 9 of December of that year, in the hill of the Tepeyac --near the rising City of Mexico, old Aztec capital, the Virgin Maria appeared to the Indian Juan Diego, does canonized by the Pope very little Juan Pablo II. It spoke to him in Nahuatl, communicating his desire to him of which in that place a temple was built where cult could be given him.
Thus Juan pronounced itself to it Diego to Fray bishop Juan de Zumárraga OFM. Doubting his
Telecom Axtel eyes Mexico, U.S. market listing
Mexico's Axtel, a local and long distance phone company founded a decade ago to battle for clients in a market dominated by ex-monopoly Telmex, plans to list its shares in Mexico and the United States.
In a statement late Monday, Axtel gave no timetable for its initial public offering on the Mexican Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, via American Depositary Receipts.
Axtel, based in the northern industrial city of Monterrey, operates in 12 cities and also offers Internet and data transmission services.
Mexico's government opened the long distance market to competition in 1997, luring
Weddings bring love and cash back to Mexico
Emerging from church the bride blushed, the groom strutted, the confetti fluttered and the mariachis crooned. Up the road, huge cauldrons of chilli were set to bubble and bottles of tequila readied for the imminent onslaught.
Another knot had been tied in the old country and it was time to party before the newlyweds headed back to daily life in California. "To be a Mexican is to be from a family and from a place," said Dan Lund, a demographer who has spent many years studying Mexican migrants. "You don't give that up unless
A Mini Boutique Wine Boom in Mexico
Could the Valley of Guadalupe in Mexico be the next Napa? That's the slant of a BBC article that looks at Porvenir, a small town that is becoming a new spot for boutique wines and wine tourism. The area is now home to a wine school as well as new inns designed for tourists. Wineries in the region include Dona Lupe, the largest organic producer,Monte Xanic and the country's largest winery, LA Cetto. The low rate of real estate and production costs make wine making in Mexico an appealing option.
Difficulties facing fledgling wineries
