October 17, 2009
Mexico pork consumption seen to grow despite AH1N1
Pork consumption in Mexico is expected to rise this year despite the country being at the centre of the AH1N1 flu outbreak earlier this year.
Consumption is expected to rise by 3.8 percent this year to 1.67 million tonnes, the attaches said, defying the 4.4-percdent drop which the US Department of Agriculture has penciled in.
Pork producers had not escaped damage however, with the improvement also inspired by falling prices. The average price of a carcass in Mexico City in August was, at US$0.024 a pound, 21-percent lower than a year before.
Imports had become increasingly competitive, with a "sufficient" global supply of pork, inspired in part by the impact of AH1N1 fears on foreign pork markets, fostering a 12-percent rise in imports.
Mexico's exports, albeit only accounting for a small proportion of domestic pork production, were set to drop 5.5 percent. The report said that 2009 was shaping up to be a difficult year for pork exports.
AH1N1 has had "minimal" impact thanks to a government promotion campaign and an industry drive which has doled out thousands of free pork samples, a report by US officials said.
