Meat+Poultry - September 2017 - 84

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ȈȶɽȃǉĩӝČӝƃȶǁɽȃǉʥɁɨȢǁ
The Mexican beef story continues to
be very similar to what we have been
reporting over the last few years with
exports growing year after year, in addition
to the opening of new markets. However,
2017 could mark a pivotal year due to
NAFTA re-negotiations that are currently
underway and the establishment of a meat
grading system close to that of the U.S.
and Canada.
Through July 2017, Mexican beef exports
have managed to grow by nearly 9
percent compared to last year, according

to Mexico's official data (Chart 1).
Approximately 90 percent of those exports
end up in the U.S. market. What is
important to mention is that overall beef
imports into the U.S. have declined 7
percent (Chart 2). Yet, according to U.S.
data, imports of Mexican beef through
June have increased 31 percent compared
to 2016 (Chart 3). Still, the Mexican Beef
Exporters Association (Mexican Beef)
continues to work hard in their search
to opening new markets; by the time this
article goes to press, the first Mexican beef
shipments will be arriving in Qatar.

PH[LFDQEHHIRUJ

@MexicanBeef

Mexican Beef Exporters Association

Mexico has also increased its imports by
about 8.3 percent, from 101.2 thousand
metric tons in 2016, to 109.5 thousand
metric tons in 2017 (Chart 4). Mexico's
beef imports are largely dominated by U.S.
product, and per U.S. official data, beef
shipments to Mexico have increased 8.6
percent during the first half of the year,
from 180 million pounds in 2016 to 195.4
million pounds in 2017 (Chart 5).
It terms of pricing, Urner Barry's Mexican
Beef cutout value has remained well above
the levels seen in the previous two years,
despite noticing a downward, yet gradual
adjustment since early May. Much of
the strength could be largely attributed
to the relative strength the U.S. market
sustained until early July; this situation
would encourage Mexican beef exporters
to ship more product into a strong U.S.
market and discourage Mexican importers
from bringing relatively expensive meat
from abroad. However, a strengthening
Mexican peso has partially offset the higher
purchase price of U.S. beef, hence, making
sense of increasing U.S. beef exports to
Mexico and the downward and gradual
price adjustment since May. Still, seasonal
value expressed in Mexican pesos remains
historically high (Chart 6).
Much of the Mexican beef that is sold
into the U.S. is negotiated well below
U.S. price benchmarks, including Urner
Barry's Yellow Sheet and the USDA. Part
of this could be attributed to a lack of
meat grading system. And Mexican beef
packers have been working on a meat
grading system similar to that in the U.S.
and Canada. The intent is to compete,

w w w.mexicanbeef.org
http://www.mexicanbeef.org https://www.facebook.com/MexicanBeef/ http://www.mexicanbeef.org http://www.twitter.com/mexicanbeef
Meat+Poultry - September 2017

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