LatinNews Daily - 20 May 2025

*Mexico-based agrifood consultancy Grupo Consultor de Mercados Agrícolas (GCMA) has announced that weekly beef exports to the US fell by 2% between 12 and 18 May, the first week since the US halted Mexican livestock imports due to the New World Screwworm (NWS) outbreak. According to the GCMA, exports equated to a volume of 3,500 tonnes (t) from 12-18 May. In the year to date, exports reached 77,100 t, which is equivalent to a 6% reduction compared to the same period in 2024. The GCMA noted ongoing concern in the livestock sector due to the presence of the NWS and the closure of live cattle exports to the US, as well as the losses stemming from the interruption of this activity. It added that livestock leaders from the northern border states of Sonora and Chihuahua had requested the federal government close Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala to prevent the entry of infested animals. According to the GCMA, Mexico’s national service for agrifood health, safety and quality (Senasica) and the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Aphis) have released more than 885m sterile screwworm flies in the south-east of Mexico since November 2024, when the NWS was first re-detected in Mexico. These releases are conducted from Chiapas state, with a fixed centre at the airport in state capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez planned for November 2025. Since June 2024, more than M$167m (US$8.67m) has been invested in actions to contain the pest, with more than 610,000 animals inspected to prevent its spread to the centre and north of the country, said the GCMA.

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