Contact:
Media
Contact:
Roberto Quiñones
Tortilla Industry Association
(703) 610-0258
rquinones@tortilla-info.com
New
Industry Classification System
Places Tortillas In Same Group
As All Baked Goods
Listing
Validates Tortillas Increasingly
Important Place in America's Diet
In
conjunction with the introduction
of a new North American industry
classification system (NAICS),
that will replace the federal
government's current Standard
Industry Classification System
(SIC) in 1997, the Economic Classification
Policy Committee of the Office
of Management and Budget has established
a new classification for tortillas.
Under the new system, bakeries
and tortillerias (dedicated tortilla
manufacturers) are placed together
in a category within "Food Manufacturing,"
whereas tortillas were previously
listed in the category of "food
preparations not elsewhere classified."
The reclassification confirms
the significance of the tortilla
as the fastest growing segment
of the U.S. baking industry as
previously determined in an independent
study sponsored by the Tortilla
Industry Association. Tortilla
manufacturing is now established
as a sub-category, equivalent
to that of bread and bakery product
manufacturing.
"The Tortilla Industry Association
has worked continuously over the
past few years for a ranking of
tortillas equal to that of bread
and bakery products," said Irwin
Steinberg, executive director
of the Tortilla Industry Association.
"Beyond the positive recognition
that tortillas are an important
segment of the baked goods industry,
this reclassification will have
a positive impact on the business
of our members and the industry
overall."
Annual sales of
tortillas in the United States
exceed all other ethnic and specialty
bread sales, including bagels,
croissants, muffins and pita bread,
combined. In 2004, tortilla sales
in the U.S. reached the $6.1 billion
mark and are expected to reach
$6.6 billion dollars in 2006.
The Tortilla Industry
Association is a not-for-profit
organization, founded in 1990,
to assist both small and medium-sized
companies with an interest in
the tortilla industry. The Tortilla
Industry Association's aim is
to help these companies grow through
effective management and marketing
techniques in the emerging tortilla
industry.
# # #
