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How much of Mexico’s trade passes through the Strait of Dover?

In 2024, an estimated $23.1 billion of Mexico’s trade passed through the Strait of Dover, 6.7% of its seaborne trade. That is $8.2 billion of exports and $14.9 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Summary

Estimated value
$23.1billion
Of its seaborne trade
6.7%
Exports
$8.2billion
Imports
$14.9billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Mexico’s estimated trade through the Strait of Dover rose 6% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Mexico 23.1

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$3.4 billion10.4%
1996$3.8 billion8.6%
1997$4.5 billion9.3%
1998$4.6 billion10.3%
1999$6.2 billion10.2%
2000$6.8 billion10.9%
2001$7.2 billion11%
2002$6.9 billion9.8%
2003$6.9 billion9.6%
2004$8.8 billion8.7%
2005$9.3 billion8.6%
2006$11.8 billion9%
2007$14.9 billion10.5%
2008$18.9 billion11.2%
2009$12.1 billion10%
2010$13.7 billion8%
2011$16.9 billion8.6%
2012$17.7 billion8.6%
2013$18.1 billion8.6%
2014$16.3 billion8.2%
2015$17 billion8.8%
2016$16.8 billion7.9%
2017$21.9 billion8.9%
2018$22.7 billion9.2%
2019$21.8 billion7.9%
2020$18.6 billion7.7%
2021$21.7 billion7.4%
2022$24.8 billion7.3%
2023$26 billion7.2%
2024$23.1 billion6.7%

Partners whose trade crosses it

Estimated value of its trade with each partner that crosses the chokepoint; the percentage is the share of all its trade through the chokepoint, not of the pair’s trade.

  1. Mexico–Germany$16.7 billion · 72.3%
  2. Mexico–Netherlands$2 billion · 8.5%
  3. Mexico–Belgium$1.8 billion · 7.9%
  4. Mexico–Czechia$1.2 billion · 5%
  5. Mexico–Switzerland$825 million · 3.6%
  6. Mexico–France$301 million · 1.3%
  7. Mexico–Luxembourg$173 million · 0.75%
  8. Mexico–United Kingdom$140 million · 0.61%

What crosses it

The products with the highest estimated value in 2024, with their share of the total through the chokepoint.

  1. Cars$5.4 billion · 23.3%
  2. Auto parts$2.6 billion · 11.4%
  3. Crude petroleum$622 million · 2.7%
  4. Other industrial machines$572 million · 2.5%
  5. Other plastic articles$408 million · 1.8%
  6. Low-voltage switches and connectors$342 million · 1.5%
  7. Transmission shafts, gears and gearboxes$308 million · 1.3%
  8. Air pumps, compressors and fans$267 million · 1.2%
  9. Tractors$250 million · 1.1%
  10. Centrifuges and filters$241 million · 1%

Reference ports

Manzanillo (72%) and Veracruz (28%)

Each port with the weight it receives from the country’s trade, based on where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest.

Other chokepoints it uses

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

Methodology

We estimate the value crossing each chokepoint from BACI trade that travels by sea according to our mode heuristic, split between each country’s ports by where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest, and routed over our own sea network. It is an estimate, not a count of ships. It covers 99.9% of seaborne trade. The approach follows Verschuur, Lumma and Hall (Nature Communications, 2025). Data up to 2024.

All maritime chokepoints