MEXICO CITY -- It seems that the world just can't get enough of Mexico's melodramatic soap operas these days. Programming exports are increasing, and the telenovela factories here are operating at a frenzied pace to keep up with growing competition from other Latin American producers.

Four decades ago, who would have imagined that Mexican novelas would be seen in such far-flung places as Russia, Indonesia and Slovenia? But today, more than 100 countries import Mexico's steamy soaps, Spanish broadcasters say.

Televisa, the world's leading producer of Spanish-language content, raked in $175 million from programming exports last year, a large chunk generated from soaps, according to the broadcaster's annual report. About $105 million in programming royalties came from Univision, Televisa's stateside partner.

The burgeoning U.S. Hispanic market is the Mexican media giant's most important international territory.

Televisa churns out a dozen soaps each year. "Rebelde," "Amor Real" and the ever-popular "Rubi," which tells the story of a young woman whose life ambition is to become rich, are just some of the hit novelas that make up Televisa's international sales slate.

However, Televisa is facing more and more competition from producers abroad. Such countries as Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia are expanding production output as they look to cash in on the world's growing appetite for soaps.

"The market is changing," said Salvador Mejia, Televisa's telenovela production director. "Today we recoup about 30% of our investment on a novela (from foreign sales), but about 10 years ago, we could recoup about 200%. That's because of more competition from about six countries in South America, and some markets such as Romania are now producing their own telenovelas."

Nevertheless, top novela producers in Mexico, including Televisa, TV Azteca and Argos, enjoy a distinct advantage over the competition from South America: They can offer melodrama with Mexican flavor.

About 65% of the U.S. Hispanic population is of Mexican descent. So it's hardly surprising that a large majority of Latino viewers prefer to watch soaps made in Mexico featuring familiar talent from their native soil.

At TV Azteca, the world's second-largest producer of Spanish-language content, the soundstages are operating at full capacity, vp international sales Marcel Vinay says. For the time being, Televisa and TV Azteca have no immediate plans to build additional soundstages. Azteca puts out six novelas a year, half that of Televisa. Its soaps air worldwide and in the U.S. on its Spanish-language broadcasting network Azteca America.

Mexican indie producer Argos also is staying pretty busy lately as it steps up novela productions for its U.S. partner, Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo.

Unlike U.S. soaps, which can run for decades, a Mexican novela has an average life span of about six to eight months. Televisa's Mejia, who recently produced the hit telenovela "La Madrasta" (The Stepmother), says the production schedules vary, depending on the producer.

"There are two ways to produce them," he says. "There are producers that like to record at least 30 hours before the novela hits the air, and there are others, such as myself, that do them one day before they go on the air."

Either way, he adds, it can get pretty hectic.