At least 50 producers are waiting for the green light to export to Asia after the swine fever and covid-19 crisis, says Ernesto Hermosillo, the association leader.
MEXICO CITY (Milenio Diario) – Faced with the opportunity that China represents for Mexican meat producers after the pandemic, around 50 are waiting to obtain the certification that will allow them to export this food to the Asian giant, said the new president of the Mexican Meat Council (Comecarne), Ernesto Hermosillo.
In an interview with MILENIO, the leader of Comecarne commented that they have “a competitive value chain and if we continue to put together elements we can export much more and be much more attractive to other countries. We continue exporting mostly our meat products to the United States, with 253 thousand tons; Japan, where we send 134 thousand tons, and then there is China, which is the market that is opening up”.
In February of last year, 34 plants were waiting to obtain this certification due to African swine fever and the coronavirus meant for the country’s industry. So last year, more interested parties were added, and more companies have joined the process.
For Hermosillo, China represents a large market, and “although the export growth that has occurred is important, we have to continue working because we are far from what is exported to the United States. We have important opportunities in Asia, especially in China, and this depends on our relationship with buyers and governments, as well as plant certifications”.
The executive also said that the National Service for Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica) continues to work in the certification process. Some observations have not been resolved, so it has not been possible to send products from some factories. “The authority in China is very demanding, and what we have to avoid are those types of non-commercial barriers for products, but we must not take our finger off the line in this opportunity that will represent a very strong expansion for primary and value. Producers.”
In 2020 Mexico produced 7.3 million tons of meat, which represents 2.3 percent above 2019. In this performance, chicken reported an increase of 2.1 percent, beef a rise of 2.6, and pork increased by 3.1 percent. “Pork had an important takeoff given the conjuncture that occurred last year with Asia. We consider it to be a fairly good performance despite the year we had with the pandemic,” said the industry representative.
CONSUMPTION HABITS
Regarding the increase in consumer interest in trends such as flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan diets, the also director of Management Model for Grupo Bafar indicated that the sector must join this type of proposals that are already part of the buyers. “Now that I am taking the Board, I have to continue with the initiatives, what has been working, and the vision within the environment that is complex. There are situations outside our country that are happening that we have to react to them, but there are also some internal ones that we have to have the capacity to work with”, he said.
In this sense, he stated that it would be essential to continue working on increasing efficiency in the value chain to make the industry more competitive during his administration. “The new reality demands different packaging, different portions, different deliveries, and even different contents,” said Hermosillo, who considered this a challenge and affirmed that they would be prepared to add the new trends that come to the market. “We do not see them as competition. It is a complementarity; meat protein increases a series of health benefits, and while we say that we have to have a balanced diet, the Council has to be prepared so that within that positioning it is done on a par with other alternatives so that we recommend a healthy and integral diet,” he exposed.
At the end of 2019, per capita consumption reached 69 kilograms of meat per year, which placed Mexico in fifth place globally. KEYS INFLATION In the first fortnight of February, the National Consumer Price Index increased 0.23% concerning the previous fortnight. REPUNTE Annual inflation was 3.84%, the highest since the second fortnight of October 2020, according to Inegi.
In December, retail’s real income, commercial firms fell 2.4% compared to November, with a growth of 3.6%.
