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Mexico Says No Date Yet for U.S. Cattle Reopening as Screwworm Response Scales Up

Mexico will test mobile modular sterile‑fly plants to accelerate eradication toward an added 100 million insects.

Overview

  • Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said talks with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins have intensified, yet conditions are not in place to announce a reopening of cattle exports to the U.S.
  • Mexico and the U.S. agreed to pilot small mobile modular production units that could supply up to 20 million additional sterile flies per week toward the eradication target.
  • The sterile‑fly production facility near Tapachula, Chiapas, launched in July, is close to 30% complete and is described as pivotal to meeting U.S. animal‑health requirements.
  • USDA reports roughly 7,885 screwworm cases concentrated in southern Mexico, is monitoring 350 sites, and has seen no detections in Mexican border states since early October.
  • U.S. import suspensions on Mexican cattle have been imposed in multiple periods since November 2024 and remain in effect, as an NGO warns illegal cattle movements from Nicaragua could complicate eradication.