According to the Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA), Mexico’s pork trade showed contrasting trends in January–June 2026: exports increased, while imports declined significantly in value terms.
Exports Rose by Nearly 13%
During the first six months of the year, Mexico exported 92,684 tonnes of pork worth a total of $426 million.
Compared with the same period in 2025, export volumes increased by 12.9%, while their value rose by 10%.
At the same time, the average implied export price declined slightly, by 2.5%, from $4,717/tonne last year to $4,597/tonne in the first half of 2026.
Japan remains the key market for Mexican pork, accounting for 67.8% of total exports.
A further 23.8% of exports went to the United States and 4% to South Korea. Together, these three markets accounted for 95.6% of Mexico’s pork exports.
Among the main destinations, shipments to Japan recorded the strongest growth, rising by 15.4% year on year. Exports to the United States increased by 11.2%.
By contrast, shipments to South Korea fell by 22.6% compared with the first half of 2025.
Import Volumes Remained Stable, but Import Costs Fell
Mexico imported 919,289 tonnes of pork in the first half of the year, worth around $2 billion.
Volumes declined by only 0.6%, but the value of purchases fell by as much as 16%.
The main reason was a sharp decline in the average import price. It stood at $2,175/tonne, 15.4% lower than in the same period of 2025, when the average reached $2,572/tonne.
Despite stronger exports and cheaper imports, Mexico remains a major net importer of pork. The trade deficit in the first half of the year amounted to around $1.574 billion.
United States Supplies Nearly 78% of Imports
The United States remained Mexico’s main pork supplier, accounting for 77.7% of total imports.
Canada accounted for 18.1%, while Brazil supplied 2.5%. Together, these three countries represented 98.3% of all Mexican pork imports.
Canada recorded the strongest growth among the main suppliers, with shipments increasing by 15.1% year on year.
At the same time, imports from the United States declined by 2.3%, while those from Brazil fell by 14.6%.
Spanish Pork Has Almost Disappeared from the Mexican Market
The most notable change occurred in trade with Spain.
In the first half of 2026, Mexico’s imports of Spanish pork fell by 99.1% compared with the same period last year. Spain has therefore effectively ceased to be a significant supplier to the Mexican market.
Overall, the first-half results point to stronger export performance by Mexico, primarily driven by demand from Japan. At the same time, the domestic market remains heavily dependent on imported pork, particularly from the United States and Canada, although lower global prices have significantly reduced the cost of these purchases.
PigUA.info, based on materials from 3tres3.com