August 14, 2014

Mexico is expected to become the largest poultry importer in the world, overtaking Japan next year, according to projections by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Expectations are that from 2013 to 2023 Mexico will have the fastest increase in imports of poultry products. Consequently, this country will be among the largest importers in the world, with a cumulative growth of 68.7%, ahead of China (44.7%), Saudi Arabia (27.4%), the European Union (5.4%) and Japan (5.1%). Mexican poultry imports will rise from a total of 785,000 tonnes last year to 830,000 tonnes in 2015, and then to 1.1 million tonnes in 2023, as estimated by the USDA.

Mexico is the sixth largest producer of poultry meat in the world, with an estimated three million tonnes in 2013, according to the Mexico's National Union of Poultry Farmers. The chicken meat is mainly for domestic consumption and about 12% is imported from the United States, Chile and Brazil.

However, it is expected that domestic demand for poultry products will become more dynamic as chicken meat is one of the cheapest protein in the Mexican market.