Cattle farmers from all of Belize can now export cattle to Mexico

Photo Credit: MAFSE

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Cattle farmers from all of Belize will now be able to export cattle to Mexico according to a decision by the Mexican Government authorized by Mexico’s Agricultural Health Authority, Senasica.

“The decision means that more than 5,000 cattle producers of the entire country of Belize can now export cattle to Mexico once they meet export requirements,” said Belarmino Esquivel, Principal Agriculture Officer and Livestock Director at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE).

“This should potentially significantly increase exports and by extension foreign exchange,” said Esquivel.

Prior to today, only farmers in the Orange Walk District were permitted to export cattle to Mexico. Furthermore, a Senasica veterinarian had to come to verify that the cattle met the export requirements. Now, Senasica has handed over that role to the International Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA), whose veterinarian will be in charge of inspection at the point of origin. Esquivel said this should decrease the cost of doing trade considerably.

The Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) will authorize the corrals where inspection will be carried out. Prior to this decision, only the corral in Shipyard, Orange Walk, was certified.

Senasica also removed the requirement for BAHA to inform them of the start of the cattle quarantine period. Previously BAHA had to inform Senasica, for planning purposes, so that Senasica could schedule their veterinarians’ visits for the exports to be made.

So far this year, approximately 2,000 head of cattle has been exported to Mexico.

This decision follows constant dialogue between the Belize Government, mainly the Ministry of Agriculture, and Mexican authorities, and comes on the heels of the recent visit of Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“These approvals resulted from the bilateral meeting held in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, between the Belize Minister of Agriculture the Hon. Jose Abelardo Mai and the Mexico Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development Dr. Victor Manuel Villalobos Arambula on the 8th of July 2021,” said MAFSE.

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