Mexico opens market for pork from Brazil

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), the opening is a measure to support the Mexican Government with controlling inflation.

The Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) celebrated the news, that arrived in a challenging moment for pig producers in Brazil due to high cost prices and less export this year.

ABPA calculated that pork exports totaled 924.200 tonnes between January and October 2022. This was 4.5% lower than that the amount in the first 10 months of 2021, which was 967,900 tonnes. In October, Brazilian pork exports reached 98.600 tonnes. China is currently the main destination and imported 46,000 tonnes last month.

“Hisorically, Mexico is 1 of the 3 main destinations for global pork exports, with volumes close to 1 million tonnes”, says ABPA president Ricardo Santin.

Mexico only recognises Santa Catarina state for imports at this moment. This state is the only Brazilian region recognised bythe World Organization for Animal Health (WHOA) as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination.

The Mexican Government made the allowance for Brazil to control inflation. “This is the result of actions from Mapa and the Brazilian Ministry of International Relations in order to expand access to our protein”, says Santin.

ABPA’s market director, Luís Rua, says Brazilian exports will go to Mexican processors. This avoids competition with local pork production. “We complement Mexican pork production. Our objective is to get more qualifications for plants in the new areas recognised by the WHOA as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, such as Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná”, says Rua.