Sweeter than Sugar: Mexican Agave Syrup

Agave is a succulent-like plant native to South America. It thrives in drier climates and lives an extremely long life. There are many types of agave, such as Blue Agave and Salmiana. Agave is perhaps best-known as the main ingredient of Tequila, but over the last few years agave syrup, a natural sweetener often used to replace sugar, has gained popularity as well.

Agave syrup is made from the Tequilana Weber plant, also known as Blue Agave. This plant is also used to make tequila. The natural juices from the core of the agave are extracted and made into syrup. Agave syrup is a popular replacement for sugar, as people perceive it as less processed and thus healthier. Its glycemic index is low, only 22. Agave syrup has a high fructose content, between 55% and 97%, compared to 50% in ordinary sugar.

One of the main producing regions of agave is Mexico. Mexico is well-suited for agave due to its volcanic soil and hot weather, which allows the agave to grow without the use of agrochemicals, pesticides or herbicides. Best Ground International is a Mexican company that is specialized in agave syrup and only produces Organic Certified and certified fair trade syrups. They do not use chemicals when growing their plants and only use organic methods to extract the syrups, using thermal hydrolysis and filtration. Their syrup meets the export quality standards from European Regulations, USDA, ECOCERT, JAS, and the company is certified by Global STD with FSSC 22000.

The main production regions for agave are Jalisco, Nayarit, Guanajuato, and Michoacán. Best Ground International says it is hard to estimate how much agave is produced, as a lot of the agave production goes to the tequila industry and agave plants meant for syrups are often not documented well. Nevertheless, they mention that “The tequila industry has an inventory of 45 million blue agave plants, which is equivalent to 942,000 tons.”

Agave’s price cycle is very interesting. Approximately every 10 years, the price of agave shoots up. Currently, the price of agave is 22 Mexican Pesos (around 1.21 USD), whereas only 3 years ago the price was 3 Mexican Pesos (around 0.15 USD). According to Best Ground International, this is a very normal cycle. The reason: a long maturity. Agave plants need around 5 years before they are able to produce syrup. Many farmers see the price of agave rise and decide to invest in agave production. When the plants mature, all available supply will come on the market at once, and the price drops sharply. Many agave farmers then decide to switch crops, and the agave supply dries up, raising the price again. Prices are currently stabilizing.

In 2018, 48K tons of agave syrup were exported. The trend for healthy foods has raised the demand for agave syrup significantly, and organic agave syrup is often perceived as even healthier. Most of the agave syrup exported goes to the USA and Europe. Only 5% of the total export goes to Asia. Nevertheless, Best Ground International expects that the Asian market will grow over the next few years, as the trend for healthier sweeteners is also catching on there.