Brazil, Mexico have great potential to boost e-commerce: expert

MEXICO CITY, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Latin America has broad potential to grow its e-commerce, especially in Brazil and Mexico, an executive of Mexico's leading e-commerce company has said.

Ignacio Caride, director-general of Mercado Libre Mexico, said Argentina, Colombia and Chile also have great potential in e-commerce, although this sector might be limited by the size of their internal markets.

"This is where Brazil and Mexico stand out, as they have a larger market with a larger opportunity for growth," Caride said in an interview with Xinhua.

Caride said Mercado Libre is growing rapidly in Mexico. In 2017, its sales in Mexico climbed 126 percent, the greatest growth in five years.

In 2018, Caride expects his company to grow in triple-digits again in Mexico with the help of the company's recently announced investment plans.

The e-commerce platform will invest 100 million U.S. dollars in two new distribution centers in central Mexico, covering a total area of 130,000 square meters and creating over 3,000 jobs.

Caride attributed the rapid growth to the country's lateness in adapting to e-commerce models, adding that huge growth remain to be achieved, as e-commerce only represents 3 percent of Mexico's total trade.

Caride noted that Mercado Libre is optimistic about its businesses in Mexico, despite doubts surrounding the continuing renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the upcoming presidential elections in July.

"Luckily, in our company and in our industry, we depend far more on what we do ourselves than on what is happening around us," he added. Enditem