According to the USDA-FAS GAIN report MX2021-0088 released on March 9th, production of broiler meat in Mexico will expand by 1.5 percent from 2020 to 3.780 million metric tons. Domestic production will be supplemented by imports of 860,000 metric tons representing 18.5 percent of the projected total supply of 4.641 million metric tons. In 2020, Mexico imported 842,000 metric tons of broiler meat. USDA data documented exports to Mexico of 700,005 metric tons implying that 15.7 percent of imports into Mexico are derived from other than the U.S. Imports by Mexico will increase by 2.1 percent from 2020 to 2021 while domestic production will by 1.5 percent higher. Given a population of 130 million, per capita consumption of broiler meat in Mexico is 78.4 lbs.
Despite the fact that Mexico is the largest importer of U.S. broiler meat, the GAIN report is deficient in detail including costs of production, breeder and broiler parameters, domestic producers, channels of distribution and sources of imports. The ten percent difference between total imports and those derived from the U.S. should have received some comment. The report does not specify sources of data, whether from industry associations or government records and does not comment on whether there are discrepancies between sources of data. This GAIN Report was superficial and compared unfavorably with other GAIN reports from nations less important than Mexico.