Processing industry top buyer of pork

Thursday, 16 January 2014 00:10
thenews.com.mx
 
The most important buyers of pork in Mexico are members of the processing industry, a study from Mexico State Autonomous University (UAEM) found.

UAEM researchers Miguel Ángel Díaz Carreño and Gabriela Rodríguez Licea authored the study on the meat industry which found that only a handful of Mexico’s 1,000 meat-processing companies are responsible for more than 50 percent of meat products in Mexico.

The study found that the consumption of meat products such as salami, sausages, hot dogs, bologna and potted meat counts for 15 percent of national meat production.

Supermarkets were also found to be the second largest buyers of pork in the country, however, researchers said they were little support to local farmers as they purchase pork at the lowest prices they can find.

The third largest buyer of pork in Mexico was found to be local butcher shops and public markets, which tend to be mainly supplied by local producers.

It was found that 56 percent of national pork consumption between 2005 and 2008 was supplied by imports. This pork is generally lower quality than nationally-produced pork, as it arrives frozen and has an earlier expiration date due to low water levels in the meat.

One of the main findings of the study was that Mexico’s elevated pork production deficit is due to heavy pork imports, and that this can be largely explained by economic factors. Increased efficiency in local pork production was one of the suggestions for fixing this problem.

The authors outlined the importance of studies on this industry by pointing out that 2008 national pork consumption was 2 million tons, one quarter of total meat consumption in Mexico.

Rodríguez has published numerous articles on agricultural production in Mexico, having collaborated before with Diaz on a study in 2010 that focused on the elasticity of pork supply and demand in Mexico.

THE NEWS