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Mexico wants a more stable trade environment

The CEO of the US Meat Export Federation says US red meat customers in Mexico are cautiously optimistic despite the lack of progress on a new trade agreement.

But, Dan Halstrom says they want to see a more stable trade environment.  “They continue to work with us closely,” he says.  “But we do need to have some resolution to some of these issues the primary one is the steel and aluminum duties and consequently the resulting duties on pork.”

While the US remains the primary supplier of pork to Mexico, Halstrom says there is increasing competition for the market.  “We’re seeing Canada increase a couple of points each month on market share and we’re seeing Europe increase,” he says.  “The customers don’t necessarily want to develop those supply chains because economically the US makes the most sense.”

He says the added uncertainty in the market is forcing Mexico to diversify their supply chain to ensure there isn’t a disruption. 

Beef exports to Mexico increased 1 percent on the year for the first quarter of 2019.  However, pork exports dropped 13 percent in value and 29 percent in volume.