Global Market Report
Mexico Pork Market
Fernando Ortiz – Ibero-America Business Development, Genesus Inc
Prices in Mexico have been steady for the most part of the year. Demand for pork continues to be strong.
Mexico has built a significant agricultural-import dependence over the past 20 years. Especially in the currently tense environment for trade, such a dependence on potentially unreliable partners can suddenly become painful. One failed crop can lead to soaring, and mandatory, prices for necessary foodstuffs. Mexico’s agricultural industry has retained great importance to the overall economy even while other industry boomed around it. But modernization and commercialization haven’t moved quickly enough to prevent Mexico from becoming increasingly dependent on food imports. Gaps between domestic production and consumption have widened substantially for such staples as corn, wheat and pork.
During the last decade in Mexico, domestic pork production has continued to grow, especially from 2011. The outlook for continued expansion in the coming years is favorable. Control of PED, improved sanitary measures, and increased investments to improve herd through better genetics are expected to increase the number of heads sent to the market by 7% per year by 2018, according to the Ministry of Agriculture of Mexico. Also the national herd is projected to get expanded in about 80,000 more sows.
Following the growing trend, the main states producers of pork are on line of expansion. Over the last three years Jalisco (largest pork producer in Mexico) has exceeded the 250,000 tons/year. Similar trend in Sonora, Puebla and Yucatan.
Genesus is developing projects in Mexico and helping producers to get a higher genetic improvement, based on science and a genetic program that works