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12h ago

Mexican Cattle Exports Frozen by U.S. Ban as Sterile-Fly Effort Scales Up

Binational sterile-fly releases aim to eradicate screw-worms to pave the way for reopening the U.S. border to Mexican livestock.

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Trabajadores arrean ganado en una hacienda que lo exporta a Estados Unidos, el martes 29 de julio de 2025, en Zamora, en el norte de México. (AP Foto/Fernando Llano)
Veterinarios examinan animales en un rancho que suministra ganado para exportación a EEUU, en Zamora, México, el lunes 28 de julio de 2025, mientras la frontera estadounidense permanece cerrada a las importaciones de ganado mexicano debido a preocupaciones por el gusano barrenador. (AP Foto/Fernando Llano)

Overview

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture has halted live cattle, horse and bison imports from Mexico for the third time in eight months following a new screw-worm outbreak in Veracruz.
  • The Mexican Meat Producers Association estimates border closures are costing the country $25 million to $30 million each month and have slashed live exports from 1.2 million to under 200,000 head this year.
  • Sonora ranchers have redirected over 35,000 cattle to domestic markets at 25 percent to 35 percent discounts and diversified into beekeeping, sheep farming and luxury butcher shops.
  • U.S. and Mexican authorities plan to produce and release billions of sterile flies across southern Mexico and Texas over the next six months to break the screw-worm breeding cycle.
  • A prolonged two-year drought in northern Mexican states has driven a 2 percent decline in cattle inventories and a 4.6 percent drop in meat production, reducing ranchers’ resilience and delaying border reopening.