Mexican and Chinese officials had a virtual meeting which included discussions of related to trade, customs clearance, agriculture, and fisheries.
In a statement, Mexico’s Secretariat of the Economy also said it was necessary to complete the sanitary protocols and authorizations for new plants to export pork to China. They also said the two countries should discuss market access for Mexican fisheries products.
China rushed to approve foreign pork facilities to export to the country in 2019 when African Swine Fever outbreaks led to massive spikes in prices. However, this need is less urgent as the domestic hog herd has recovered.
Inspections of new facilities has also been disrupted as China’s borders have remained almost entirely due to Covid although some inspections have been done virtually.
Mexico’s pork exports to China peaked in 2020 at 104k tons, however they decline to 70k tons in 2021 as domestic Chinese prices fell. From January to July of this year, imports have totalled just 13k tons.