Source: Andre Sulluchuco, MEATINGPLACE, 12/15/14


The Mexican government has eliminated tariffs for pork imports due to the high product prices and low domestic product supply, according to CNNExpansion.com.

Pork meat in Mexico has already increased 16.66 percent so far this year, according to the news site.

“The national production of pork meat is insufficient to meet consumer demands,” said the Diario Oficial de la Federación, the official publication of the Mexican government. The rule went into effect last Thursday and will apply solely to those countries without a free-trade agreement with Mexico.

The United States, Mexico and Canada entered the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994, under which all duties and quantitative restrictions among the three nations were eliminated by Jan. 1, 2008.  

Jose Luis Carám Inclán, president of the Mexican Pork Producers Federation, said that the low pork supply is not due to production, but rather that “every time we progress, pork products are imported at prices well below the production costs in Mexico.”

“We’re worried about this and we were not expecting this decision”, he added. “Since the beginning of the current presidential administration, we’ve worked closely with the federal government… and if necessary, we will go to court over this.”

The Mexican Secretariat of the Economy will announce the exact requirements for tariff-free pork imports that involve deadlines, product quality and other terms.

The decision comes approximately one year after the 2013 PEDV outbreak, which affected both Mexico and the United States.

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