Innovation
Technology, distribution and the business of agave.
.jpg?width=1400 "Photo: terri_bateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons")
Photo: terri_bateman, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsBrands are quietly building a direct line to your door, and it's changing who controls the relationship with the drinker.
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAs bottles become collectibles, provenance technology is becoming a competitive advantage.
Photo: Agave, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSustainability has shifted from marketing message to risk management, and a genuine point of difference.
Where the industry stands
Every figure below carries its source and the period it covers. Nothing here is estimated by us. Last reviewed August 12, 2026.
Down 66 percent from 22.21 pesos in 2024, and from a peak of 24.09 pesos in 2023. Growers report spot sales as low as 0.80 pesos through intermediaries.
Up 17.7 percent on 2024, which the CRT recorded at 495.8 million litres. A record year, made as the agave price collapsed.
Down 4.1 percent on 2024 while volume held nearly flat at 32.1 million cases, which is what trading down looks like in the numbers.
Counted from the CRT certified brand file. Tequila Watch has scored 256 bottles from 101 of those houses.
The rest, 168.1 million litres, is mixto. The 100 percent agave share has climbed for a decade.
Against 1.89 million tonnes in 2024. Demand for agave rose even as the price paid for it fell.
Roughly 333 million of 406 million litres. The concentration is why a US tariff or a US slowdown reaches Jalisco quickly.
The CRT certified count. Mexico's agriculture ministry publishes 397.1 million litres for the same year on a customs basis, so the two series differ.