Last month, at least six workers died in an explosion and fire at a tequila factory in México. Two others were injured in the disaster, at a distillery in the town of Tequila, Jalisco.

“The incident involved the explosion of a tank car,” Jalisco’s civil protection agency said, adding that the fire ignited three additional tank cars, each with a capacity of 219,000 liters. The cause of the fire is not yet known, authorities said. At least 40 firefighting and civil protection teams responded to the incident.  

Jalisco state is the largest producer of agave, the key ingredient in tequila, generating nearly 75% of the nation’s annual crop. The town of Tequila, which gives the liquor its name, is a center for tourism, receiving an average of more than one million visitors annually from Mexico and abroad, according to data from the mayor’s office.

In February, Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies approved a law to change National Tequila Day from the third Saturday of March to July 24, to coincide with the same date celebrated in the United States, its northern neighbor and largest trading partner.

The US is the largest market for Mexican tequila exports. Adjusted for inflation, between 2014 and 2019, tequila imports increased from $1.1 billion to $4.9 billion, according to 2023 figures from the US Department of Agriculture.