One of Mexico’s largest meat processors recently journeyed to the UK to meet with pork industry leaders, to find out more about the UK pork sector following the £50 million UK-Mexico market access deal in 2021.
Senior leaders from SuKarne took part in a two-day mission to London to hear from AHDB experts, government officials and pork processors, about industry topics such as antibiotic usage, production methods and UK export capabilities.
On the mission, SuKarne’s CEO, Jesús Vizcarra Calderón, and two company directors met with AHDB’s export team – to explore the opportunity for the shipping of UK pork to Mexico.
Market access to Mexico was granted late in 2021 for the UK, but was nonetheless a huge win for the industry, with the deal estimated to be worth around £50 million in the first five trade years. Mexico also imports an average of 106,000 tonnes of pork each month, so the newly-granted market access could prove to be a lucrative deal for the UK pork industry.
As such, AHDB is working in partnership with the UK government, UKECP and others to gain further market access for the export of UK offal to Mexico; currently the necessary documents are under review by the Mexican authorities.
During the visit, the SuKarne leaders were also given a butchery demonstration from AHDB butcher Martin Eccles, who showed the delegates how the UK was adding value to the carcass via innovative butchery.
Presentations were also given by AHDB’s head of animal health and welfare, Mandy Nevel, and AHDB’s international’s market development director Dr Phil Hadley. Plus, representatives from Red Tractor, the British Meat Processors Association, the British Pig Association and two leading pork processors.
AHDB’s senior export manager fo the Americas, Susana Morris, said of the mission: “It was an incredibly useful and productive meeting. During our time with SuKarne, AHDB was able to talk about the quality of UK pork, as well as our high welfare standards, UK assurance schemes, and what processors are doing to be more sustainable – something that was very important to SuKarne.”
The Mexican delegates were also given the chance to sample various UK red meats, including pork, beef and lamb.
Ms Morris added: “This was a great opportunity for us to show SuKarne the quality of our red meat and they were very complimentary of the dishes. We were delighted with the feedback, and we are hopeful this meeting will provide more opportunities for our red meat exporters in this new market.”