Mexican state ships first pork consignment to Japan

21-Mar-2013 - Last updated on 21-Mar-2013 at 09:27 GMT

The Mexican state of Jalisco has sent its first shipment of pork to Japan, with a ceremony to mark the occasion attended by producers, entrepreneurs and government representatives.

The shipment comprised 20 tonnes of pork produced in Jalisco and processed by the Federal Inspection Facility Type (TIF) Establishment 467. It means that Jalisco joins Sonara and Yucatan as pork exporters to Japan.

Commenting on the achievement, Enrique Sanchez Cruz, senior director of Mexico’s National Service of Health, Food Safety and Quality (SENASICA), said the shipment was the result of government and pork producers’ efforts to eradicate classical swine fever in the Jalisco state. “It is a success story that shows that Mexico can change the face of the field, based on the public policies implemented by President Enrique Peña Nieto.”

He added that the challenge was now to keep the disease out of the state.

On behalf of the Governor of Jalisco, the Secretary of Rural Development Hector Padilla said the state government was committed to working with producers and federal government to ensure the supply of safe pork to the domestic market and Japan.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture first recognised Jalisco as free of classical swine fever in August 2012. TIF Establishment 467 was the first to receive approval to export pigmeat born and raised in the state, but SENASICA estimated that at least three more Jalisco processing facilities could be cleared to export pork to Japan in the near future.

Mexico ships 50,000 tonnes of pork per year with a market value of US$256.1m. Jalisco and Sonora are the main pork-producing regions in the country, accounting for 45% of national production.

The shipment is expected to reach the pork of Tokyo, Japan, within 20 to 25 days.