An AHDB-led trade mission to Mexico and Colombia has gained further insight into these markets and helped British exporters take advantage of growing demand for pigmeat in Latin America.
Mexico is one of the world’s biggest pork importers. Pork is the second most consumed meat in the country and consumption is expected to grow. The Mexican market opened for British pork for the first time a few years ago and, last year, it opened further to include offals, with a potential estimated value of £18 million over the first five years of trade.
AHDB’s trade mission included participating in Expo Carnes y Lácteos in Monterrey, Mexico, where they joined more than 400 exhibitors at the event to showcase British produce and provide the chance to sample pork offal dishes prepared by a chef on the stand. AHDB also took a group of exporters to meet with major supply chain stakeholders in Colombia.
Susana Morris, AHDB senior trade development manager, said: “Mexico is already an important market for British pig meat exports, with almost half of the pig meat consumed in the country being imported. We anticipate further opportunities for British pig meat exporters to maximise carcase value and look forward to working with them to help reap the benefits of trading with Mexico.
“Expo Carnes y Lácteos is Mexico’s most important exhibition for the industry. The exhibition attracts buyers not only from Mexico but from other parts of Latin America, illustrating the opportunities for UK pig meat exports in the wider region.
Colombia, where the delegation also visited, is a net importer of pig meat and a market where domestic production supplies around 75% of the consumption. Despite an anticipated increase in domestic production, it is not expected to keep up with demand.
“Following some research AHDB conducted on Colombia, we identified that it could also present opportunities for us to export product at a future date.
“As we were already planning to take part in Expo Carnes y Lácteos in Mexico it was an ideal opportunity while in the region for us to organise a trade mission to Colombia to gain further insight into trends in the market which our exporters could benefit from,” Ms Morris added.
Further details about export opportunities for British pig meat exports to Mexico can be found in the AHDB analysis Prospects for UK agri-food exports.