Mexico Has Global Influence Due To US Ties
MEXICO - Because of its influence on US cattle supplies and production, Mexico can impact on Australian meat returns, despite it not being a direct competitor with Australia or a top tier export market, write market analysts at Meat and Livestock Australia.
24 June 2013
1 minute read
Probably the most influential sector is the feeder cattle trade from Mexico into the US. While a lot has been made of the declining US cattle herd in recent years, the availability of young Mexican cattle has helped to offset this somewhat.
The large number of cattle moving north from Mexico relieves some price pressure on feedlot buyers and those further along the supply chain. Over the past four years (2009-2012), the proportion of cattle placements in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma that were imported from Mexico rose from 9 per cent to 22 per cent - as the supply of suitable US cattle diminished.
While this has declined into early 2013, it was still around 16 per cent during March and April.
In terms of the relative importance of beef imports to Mexico, Australia remains very low – despite being the third-largest (behind the US and Canada) supplier of imported beef. In 2012, Mexico imported 604 tonnes of Australian beef, just 0.4 per cent of the annual total.
TheCattleSite News Desk
