Economy Secretary Fernando Canales Clariond acknowledged yesterday that, with the exception of the Yucatan peninsula, the country's south-southeast region registered the lowest rates of growth in the small- and medium-size enterprise (SME) sector.
The former governor of Nuevo Leуn called for the March Toward the South programme to be expanded in order to diminish the growth differences between this region and the north.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of SME Week 2003, Canales Clariond said that micro and SME businesses make up 99.7% of all companies in Mexico, contribute 55% of the value of national production and provide 68% of jobs.
President Vicente Fox, also speaking at the event held in Mexico City, called the SMEs a national priority and promised that 40% of government purchases would be made from this sector. He promised to promote deregulation and combat contraband products.
