Mexico’s Livestock Industry Seeks to Rebound After Yearlong Ban

Ranchers in northern Mexico are preparing to resume cattle exports to the US as a yearlong ban comes to an end. The ban was imposed due to concerns over the New World screwworm fly, a flesh-eating parasite that has spread across the border, affecting both countries.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, the ban will be lifted on August 24 at the Douglas, Arizona, border crossing, which borders Agua Prieta in Mexico’s Sonora state. The US Department of Agriculture will conduct inspections before allowing Mexican cattle to cross into Arizona.

The new rules require cattle to be fitted with radio-frequency identification tags in their ears and screened by electronic readers and trained dogs. Initially, only 700 cattle per day will be allowed through, rising to 900 in the second week and eventually reaching 1,300 per day.

The ban had a significant impact on both countries, particularly in the US, where beef prices skyrocketed due to supply shortages. The US ranchers were unable to make up the supply shortfall, contributing to closures at some meat-processing plants and hurting feedlot operations.

Mexican ranchers, such as Martín Alfonso Ibarra, are cautiously optimistic about resuming live cattle exports. However, they acknowledge that the export halt cut their income by 40% last year. Ibarra said, ‘This is not over yet.’

The screwworm gets its name from the maggots’ habit of burrowing into a wound. Any warm-blooded animal, including wildlife, pets, and occasionally humans, can be infested. In Mexico, the screwworm outbreak was detected in November 2024 and has spread to 30 of the 32 states, with most recent cases reported in Sonora.

The US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has been battling cases in Texas and New Mexico. To date, Mexico has 1,969 active screwworm cases, representing less than half of the infections reported a year ago. Despite this decline, authorities acknowledge that eradication will take time.

Local ranchers are frustrated with the new US restrictions, which they believe will limit shipments and exacerbate supply shortages in both countries. Juan Carlos Ochoa, president of the Regional Livestock Union of Sonora, said, ‘We are at a complicated moment when we need authorities to think less politically and more technically and reasonably.’

Before the border closure, Mexico exported about 1.2 million head of cattle to the United States each year, mainly from its northern states. When exports were suspended, Mexican ranchers turned to the domestic market, where they sold their cattle for nearly 40% less than they had received in the US.