In Baja California, mainly due to its excellent location, its natural resources and infrastructure of its municipalities, its leadership as a state; and its inhabitants who always show a positive attitude, it is an attractive region for investors.

Due to the diversity in productive sectors of the region, it has been used for diverse economic activities.

 

Transformation and Maquiladora Industries.

The development of the transformation industry and the maquiladora, has been mainly in the food industry, automotive, metal, mechanics, glass containers, electronics, plastic and textiles. Other industries not less important are the manufacturing and assembly of electrical and electronic items, tractor trailers, cargo trailers and toys maquiladoras.

The maquiladora activity has been very successful in Baja California because of the advantages it offers. It is the region with the most facilities, the second one with the most occupied personnel and with the greatest amount of added value in the country.

In this state, the maquiladora activity began under the protection of the free zone regime that ruled in the 60’s and that allowed the free import of machinery and equipment, raw materials and supplies; from here it extended to the rest of the northern border, later to the coasts and other borders and finally to the whole country.

Historically the predominant investment has been North American due to the proximity to that country, but in recent years Asian and European investments have gained special momentum to further boost commercial activity and economic development.

A great amount of Baja California’s qualified labor (approximately 25%) participates in transformation processes of industries that belong to branches of traditional economic activity that support other export industries, such as wood furniture manufacturing, home decoration, construction materials, among others.

In addition, there are more than 400 companies with more than 40 thousand employees, providing materials and sub-components to leading sectors such as electronics and the industrial aggregation of medical devices. These companies favor the integration of local supply chains, strengthening the competitiveness of the region.

 

Food and Beverages.

Baja California is one of the most important states in Mexico in terms of agricultural production and fishing, characterized by the export quality of most of its products. In addition, the state has a growing food processing industry, using available regional products as raw material to incorporate them into the productive and transformation processes.

 

Among the Baja California food products, that stand out are:

Vegetables: organic and hydroponic production of small vegetables, tomatoes, strawberries, broccoli, cucumbers, pumpkins, cactus, yucca, and others.

Fish and seafood: tuna, mackerel, sardine, clam, mussel, lobster, shrimp and abalone.

Drinks: Wines, beer, soft drinks, milk and natural fruit juices.

Deserving a special mention:

The wine industry of Baja California, which contributes with more than 90% of the wine produced in the country.

Organic and hydroponic products produced for export.

The tuna fattening farms, and other species for export such as the geoduck clam and fresh products such as the hedgehog and fish varieties. Some of these products are exported live and others in fresh or ultra-frozen form.

Many of these fresh or processed products, due to their high quality, have the necessary certifications to be commercialized in the demanding and sophisticated markets of North America, Japan and the European Union.

 

Biotechnology

In Baja California there is scientific and technological potential to capitalize on the many advantages that biotechnology offers. The development of our state is increasingly based on the generation and use of science and knowledge to overcome economic, social and environmental challenges.

Ensenada has several research institutions of excellence that work on biotechnology issues. The number of researchers, technicians, students and teachers exceeds the figure of 2,000 people who are related to the subject of research. There are several postgraduate degrees of excellence in which new researchers are prepared.

In Mexico there are 0.88 researchers out of every 1000 inhabitants, while in Ensenada there are 12.2 people dedicated to research out of every 1000 inhabitants, a figure that makes Ensenada the city with the highest rate of scientists per capita.

The vision in this sense is that Baja California and particularly Ensenada will position itself as a national leader in the era of biotechnology industries, becoming a development pole, promoting the creation and attraction of bio-businesses with high technological and intellectual levels.

The biotechnology ecosystem in the State is characterized by the participation of molecular diagnostic laboratories; research, development and/or production of inputs for the biotechnology, food, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries; laboratories, hospitals and public and private offices of the Health Sector, in addition to companies dedicated to the manufacturing of products or services for research or diagnostic laboratories.

Within the support infrastructure, we can mention analytical, wet, larval and biotechnology laboratories; as well as outdoor experimental pilot testing platforms, ponds for experimental shrimp cultivation, and micro algae and bioassay cultivation areas, among others, which offer facilities and spaces for the best performance of the work in the field.

Among the research areas in which we are currently working, the following stand out: marine and environmental biotechnology, natural marine products, genetics and molecular biology, bioremediation, bioprocess engineering, microbiology, aquatic biotechnology, functional nutrition, food and aquaculture, and others.

 

Information Technology.

Mexico’s IT industry is a safe and reliable partner for foreign companies.

Mexico’s growing software and IT services sector comprises nearly 500,000 IT professionals. The attrition rate is very low, approximately 5%. 121 universities include youth education programs on global industry requirements and about 65,000 new IT professionals graduate from universities or technical schools each year.

Companies wishing to establish innovative IT service operations in Mexico are candidates for incentives that could minimize their initial investment, thus reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) for operations in Mexico. Those who invest in the technology industry in Mexico obtain tax credits for research and development, a reduction in income tax and exemption from value-added tax on exported services.

Baja California is positioned as one of the states with the highest potential in this industry. Its proximity to California and its bilingual and bicultural workforce are great advantages for companies established here.

More than 120 IT companies have been developing various specialized services and software applications. In Baja California we have the necessary resources to strengthen technical and business capabilities to compete on a global scale.

Baja California is considered one of the 5 states with the highest potential to develop the Information Technology industry. The it@baja support center integrates Information Technology companies to provide value added solutions, seeking the continuous growth of the country through the sustained development of its suppliers, clients, contacts and members, promoting their export capabilities and helping to create the necessary conditions to achieve their goals.

More than 12,000 highly qualified employees belong to the IT industry, mainly engineers, of which 70% are bilingual. Baja California has the best educational system in the country, with the first places in education and achievements.

The main fields of work for IT companies are government services, design for manufacturing, telecommunications, service and SMB (Server Message Block) applications, accounting, tax and human resources software, foreign trade applications, video games, integrated systems, e-learning, biometrics, logistics, translation software, call centers and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services, R&D (Research and Development) services, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions and outsourcing in software development, among others.