Mexico has stopped exporting $1.3 billion worth of cattle to the U.S.: producers

Chihuahua, Chih. Approximately $1.3 billion in cattle exports have not materialized this year due to the partial closure of the border with the United States due to the screwworm outbreak, said Luis Fernando Haro, director general of the National Agricultural Council (CNA).

He emphasized that the current average price of a calf destined for export is at historically high levels, around $2,000 per head compared to the $1,200 recorded before the border restrictions.

"Around 650,000 head of cattle have not crossed into the United States despite all the border closures or partial openings," he said in an interview during the "Global Agrifood Forum 2025," organized by the CNA.

Luis Fernando Haro described the closure of the border to Mexican cattle-exporting states as "unfair," given that the screwworm outbreak is more than 1,400 kilometers from the border with the United States, and the pest has not been detected in that area.

The closure of the United States border came after the detection of the screwworm, a pest that affects livestock and entered Mexico 10 months ago.

CNA President Jorge Esteve Recolons explained that they are working hard, which is reflected in the healthy cattle on the border, while the number of cases has dropped from around 120 per day to fewer than 30 currently (in the south of the country).

While awaiting the reopening of the border by U.S. authorities, he explained that some of the heads have been moved or sold on the domestic market, but not at the prices currently being negotiated in the U.S. market.

He noted that the cattle exported to the United States are breeds for fattening—called registered cattle—and are not the same breeds typically sold in the domestic market.

"We must not forget that in Mexico we have a problem with the decline in cattle herds, and this has also affected prices," he emphasized.

Luis Fernando Haro explained that U.S. feedlots are also affected, as they lack Mexican cattle, which has led to higher meat prices for U.S. consumers.

A political issue

The president of the National Agricultural Council (CNA) considered the measure to extend the border closure to livestock due to the screwworm to be purely political.

“It's rumored that U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wants to be governor of Texas, but she won't be governor if the screwworm gets in because the ranchers are in Texas… One thing they're saying about that is that many of these decisions coming from the U.S. are political,” he emphasized.

He also explained that the problem isn't the legal crossing of cattle, but rather the illegal movement of animals through Mexico, as they enter without undergoing the appropriate health controls.

"He doesn't get inspected, he doesn't get baths, he doesn't get injections, he doesn't do all the things that should be done," he stressed.

However, he explained that there is no "visibility" as to when the border will fully reopen and cattle exports from Mexico to the United States will resume, recalling that not long ago, the U.S. government closed the border after a case was found in northern Veracruz.

"Fixing the screwworm will take years. I don't know when it will open; I don't have the visibility. I know that the Secretary of Agriculture, Julio Berdegué, is coordinating visits by the Americans."