Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Friday that U.S. beef producers would now be able to export slaughter cattle to Mexico for the first time in over a decade.
- Also on Friday, the USDA reported that U.S. pork producers would have expanded access to consumer markets in Peru to sell U.S. fresh and chilled pork.
- These new opportunities will contribute to this year's U.S. food and agricultural product export figures, which hit a record high in 2014.
Dive Insight:
USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack believes these are strong moves for meat producers in the U.S. He said in a statement, "Our priority at USDA is not only to open or reopen markets for our producers, but to help drive U.S. economic growth through trade by supporting and creating American jobs on and off the farm. Mexico is an important market for U.S. cattle producers, with the potential to import $15 million of live U.S. cattle per year and we expect Peru's market could generate $5 million annually in additional pork sales."