Hugo Setzer feels happy about the achievements of the publishing industry in Mexico during 2022. He remembers the joy of his colleagues during the Guadalajara Book Fair at the end of November, with the aisles flooded with people and the bookstores billing at levels prior to the covid-19 pandemic, which was a strong setback for the sector.
"Everyone was satisfied with the income at the fair," says Setzer, in charge of Manual Moderno Editorial.
“We had better income than during 2019 ″, he affirms.
And the numbers do not contradict it: the Nielsen BookScan company, which monitors the weekly purchase of books in two thousand points of sale in Mexico, has stated that the bookstores sold more than 20 million copies and invoiced more than 5,000 million pesos. last year.
A respite that the industry expects to continue this year, despite the increase in the cost of raw materials, mainly paper.
“We are confident that everything will return to normal this year, that it will be the year of recovery,” says Setzer, who is also the president of the National Chamber of the Mexican Publishing Industry (Caniem).
The relief of publishers and booksellers is not for less.
The book industry was hit hard during the pandemic due to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities to prevent the spread of the virus, mainly the quarantine and the closure of businesses that were not considered essential, such as bookstores.
The Mexican booksellers association demanded at the time that they be considered as such and that they be allowed to open their doors.
They even went so far as to give France as an example, where the Government, by official decree, informed that bookstores could remain open in case of confinement.
In Mexico, however, the authorities ignored the sector's requests and the pandemic did the rest: sales plummeted and many bookstores had to close.
The editors, for their part,
“It was a very hard impact,” says Setzer.
"The entire industry lowered its income in 2020. Most of the publishers reduced the volume of production," recalls the president of Caniem.
This body brings together more than 200 publishers and production includes everything from literature to school and academic books.
To get an idea of the collapse caused by the covid, it is enough to take a look at the statistics of the sector: in 2018 the publishers published 135 million copies, while in 2021 that production dropped to 89 million.
Revenues also fell drastically: in 2018 they managed to sell 133 million copies, while in 2021 sales reached 99 million.
A group of people read in the corridors of the Guadalajara Book Fair, in December 2022. Nayeli Cruz
"Now the sector is beginning to stabilize," says Setzer hopefully.
Although they have not yet processed the numbers for 2022, the publishers have done their math and expect an increase in production volume of 4.35%, reaching almost 93 million copies.
They also project that the books sold will reach 100 million, with a turnover of 9,866 million pesos.
This despite the problems that the industry is facing with the increase in the cost of raw materials, mainly paper.
“Paper has increased its price by up to 40% and there has also been a shortage.
The paper industry focused on packaging production during the pandemic because online purchases increased.
In addition, due to the pandemic, the supply chain was interrupted and transportation became more expensive.
Added to this is now the war in Ukraine, which caused a large paper mill to close in Russia”, explains Setzer.
All in all, this publisher views the immediate future with good eyes.
"We hope that the sector will already be normalized," he hopes.
Not only publishers are satisfied with the performance of the book industry in 2022. Bookstores are also breathing a sigh of relief after the storm.
With more than 20 million books sold and more than 5,000 million pesos billed, according to figures revealed to EL PAÍS by Nielsen BookScan.
This company, which measures the sector in 14 countries, has coverage of 80% of the market in Mexico, with monitoring in two thousand points of sale.
David Pemán, responsible for Latin America at Nielsen BookScan, explains that the company brings together the best-selling titles in the industry every year, but without including school textbooks.
“2022 was a good year.
We have registered a growth in units sold of 15.3% and an increase of 21.8% in billing”, says Pemán.
And those sales come despite the increase in book prices.
This sector analyst explains that the average price of a copy went from 239 pesos in 2020 to 254 a year later and to 273 last year, which represents an increase of 7.2%, similar to the increase in inflation in Mexico.
All in all, he says, the numbers are good, because during the pandemic Mexico was the country —of those measured by Nielsen BookScan— that registered the largest drops in book sales.
“In 2022 pre-covid sales have been exceeded.
The market has grown”, says Pemán.
because during the pandemic, Mexico was the country —of those measured by Nielsen BookScan— that registered the greatest falls in book sales.
“In 2022 pre-covid sales have been exceeded.
The market has grown”, says Pemán.
because during the pandemic, Mexico was the country —of those measured by Nielsen BookScan— that registered the greatest falls in book sales.
“In 2022 pre-covid sales have been exceeded.
The market has grown”, says Pemán.
The analyst also views the performance of the sector with hope.
“The recovery is encouraging.
Many have suffered, some have disappeared.
And it is true that the behavior last year was not the same for everyone, but looking at it coldly, there has been an encouraging recovery ”, he explains.
Pemán affirms that the pandemic "has brought a restructuring of the market", which can be verified with the increase in Internet sales.
“Mexico had online commerce sales below other European countries and the covid has caused them to take a very big leap.
In a very short time, progress has been made that would have taken many years.
All this online commerce has brought more markets, has brought the book to a larger audience and has made the book reach places where it did not reach”, Pemán explains enthusiastically.
An enthusiasm that seems to have spread like a virus throughout the industry.
A good virus, yes, that makes its way after the disaster caused by covid-19.
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