By Audrey Jackson
Reuters’ Tom Polansek and Kanishka Singh reported that, “the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday it is lifting a ban on imports of Mexican cattle that it imposed more than a year ago to keep out the flesh-eating livestock pest New World screwworm.”
“The halt of imports drove U.S. beef prices to record highs, hurting consumers and putting pressure on President Donald Trump’s administration to lower costs,” Reuters reported. “The ban also ultimately failed to keep out screwworm, which has moved north through Central America and was detected in June on Texas farms and in New Mexico.”
“The United States plans to resume importing Mexican cattle at a port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, in 30 days, and then eventually open two additional ports of entry in New Mexico, the USDA said in a statement, adding it is now safe to start the reopening,” Reuters reported. “The USDA said it would open southern cattle ports in phases, adding that the phased reopening was contingent on Mexico’s adherence to a plan to control the screwworm.”
Resumed Cattle Imports Could Lower Beef Prices
Bloomberg’s Ilena Peng and Elizabeth Elkin reported that, “the livestock trade between the two countries has been largely closed since late 2024 following the detection of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that can kill cattle within days if left untreated. Despite the preventive measures, the pest was detected in Texas in early June, marking the first such case in US livestock in about five decades.”
Source : illinois.edu