MEXICO CITY: More than 1 million small and medium-sized businesses had closed permanently in Mexico since the middle of last year, mainly due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study by the national statistics agency INEGI.

In a report on Monday, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) said that a total of 1,010,857 businesses closed completely, 20.8 percent of the country's total, as a result of the pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

The autonomous body indicated, however, that in the referenced period, 619,443 businesses were also created, 12.8 percent of the total. INEGI indicated that of the total number of enterprises in the informal sphere that permanently closed, 10 percent were engaged in private non-financial service activities and 9.5 percent were engaged in commerce.

The Mexican economy, the second-largest in Latin America after Brazil, plummeted 8.2 percent in 2020, its worst record since the 1930s, as a result of the ongoing health crisis.

Inegi president Julio Santaella told a virtual press conference that business closures increased during the pandemic period, which in Mexico’s case began in March.

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