PLAGUE WITH A MILLION-DOLLAR BILL: MEXICO COULD BE LOSING UP TO 11.4 MILLION DOLLARS DAILY

Our country could face losses of up to 11.4 million dollars a day because of the closing of borders for cattle due to the screwworm plague, says the National Agricultural Council (CNA by its acronym in Spanish).

On May 11, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the border closure for cattle for at least 2 weeks due to the appearance of constant cases of screwworm in the southern of Mexico. Although the formal suspension ended on May 25, exports have not yet resumed because they require a technical resolution.

The cattle screwworm is a fly larvae pest that feeds on live tissue of warm-blooded animals. This pest has been attacking the country since November of last year, when it was the first brake on cattle exports to the United States.

The news of the suspension of land imports of cattle came as a surprise to the country, since only on April 28 Mexico and the United States had reached an agreement on the management of this pest. However, the news about the appearance of new cases could alarm the neighboring country once again, since Chiapas currently has 6 human cases of myiasis.

The northern country was strongly affected by this pest in the past, the consequences were devastating, and it took the industry 30 years to recover, says Brooke Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Mexico's Secretary of Agriculture, Julio Berdegué, met with Rollins and agreed to implement additional measures against the pest. One of the measures adopted by Mexico was the construction of a new sterile fly plant in Chiapas. These sterile insects disrupt the reproductive cycle of the screwworm pest.

Although Rollins expressed his satisfaction with Mexico's efforts, he asked for more time to finish analyzing the measures adopted. Berdegué invited a group of USDA experts to visit Mexico to verify the effectiveness of the measures being implemented.

Each year Mexico exports one billion dollars’ worth of cattle to the United States. The main exporting states include Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango and Coahuila.

Prior to the temporary suspension of imports for screwworm in November 2024, approximately 2,800 head of cattle crossed daily through each quarantine station at the border. Once imports from Mexico resumed in February 2025, there were approximately 500 head of cattle per quarantine station, due to a stricter sanitary protocol agreed upon by both countries.

Our country did not take the news lightly. Negotiations are still ongoing to reach an agreement between both countries so that exports to the neighboring country can be resumed as soon as possible, thus avoiding further losses to the sector.

As happened at the beginning of the year, when exports recovered little by little until 2,000 head of cattle per day were exported to the United States, the sector will recover the strength of its exports, reaching the same export figures as before the suspension.