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Meatingplace Interview: NAMA’s Mexico rep on cross-border trade
Story Date: 2/14/2013
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Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 2/13/13
Mexico is the United States’ No. 1 trading partner in proteins, but there still is a lot of upside potential, according to Susana Arellano, the North American Meat Association’s new Mexico government relations representative in Mexico City.
Arellano brings to the position a background with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization and in marketing. Here at NAMA’s MeatXpo conference, she took a few minutes to discuss the job and her goals with Meatingplace.
Meatingplace: What do you see as the most important factors to work on in trade relations between the two countries?
Arellano: One of the things is to make connections and networks between companies, and to get more members from Mexico so that they can do business with American companies. Also, I will be working on some of the issues that Mexican companies deal with [such as Mexican regulations].
There are companies in Mexico that export to the U.S. and Canada but I think we [can build that business,] especially in exports to Canada. We’re looking at what issues we have to solve to grow the flow of product. Mexican [protein] companies are an opportunity for American companies not only for sourcing raw material but also [fabricated meats].
Meatingplace: What are some of the obstacles to be overcome to building the business throughout North America?
Arellano: One is to build networks and another is to build trust — [meaning that] Americans and Canadians need to know that the system in Mexico is equivalent to that [in their home countries]. We have the same food safety protocols [and] make products of the same quality.
Meatingplace: How are the U.S. and Mexican systems for raising and processing meat alike, and how are they different?
Arellano: In the south part of the country we have a lot of grass, and a lot of the cattle are grass-fed. The breeds are different: In the south part of the country we have a lot of Zebu, and in the north part it’s more European breeds. The difference is that the cattle in the south part of Mexico are more lean. In the central part of Mexico we cook different dishes — it’s not just a steak on the plate — and need a different type of meat. In Asia they have the same sort of taste for the meat, and Mexico may have more opportunities to export [meat] to China because of the kinds of breeds that we have.
Meatingplace: Are there a lot of opportunities for the meat that we produce in the United States to find more markets in Mexico?
Arellano: The United States is already exporting a lot of fine meat cuts to Mexico. A lot of the meat from U.S. companies goes to processors in Mexico and are manufactured into something else. I think in that regard they are complementary industries in Mexico and the United States.
For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com/.
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