USMEF looks for rebound in Mexico’s meat purchases

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USMEF looks for rebound in Mexico’s meat purchases

A rebound in pork exports to Mexico was one of the highlights of the October report from the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

USMEF’s Dan Halstrom says October pork exports to Mexico were at their highest level since March, up 11 percent from a year ago.

“I think that is a really good sign. Because, if you remember, Mexico and Latin America in general went into lockdown with COVID-19 after the U.S., in May and June,” Halstrom says. “So this is definitely a good first step for Mexico.”

Halstrom says they are also looking for a rebound in beef exports to Mexico in the coming months.  So far this year, the volume of beef exports to Mexico is down 27 percent compared to last year.

“A lot that has to do with foodservice,” he says. “U.S. beef is the cornerstone of foodservice in a lot of markets, but especially Mexico with the tourism spots, etc. And we’re just now starting to see maybe a little bit of a reopening on tourism. By no means back to normal, but we think it will be next year.”

Halstrom says they are forecasting a 10 to 15 percent increase in beef exports to Mexico in 2021.