February 2001 - International Report

NRA Presence Key In Critical Mexican Market

By Jim Rudbeck
Vice President, International Programs, National Renderers Association

The Mexican market is critical to American renderers. This single market accounts for over one-quarter of annual global exports of rendered products, between $150 million and $200 million yearly. With the assistance of the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) Foreign Market Development and Market Access Programs, positioning a National Renderers Association (NRA) Latin American office in Mexico City since 1998 has paid dividends to the industry. Following are some examples.

Presumably to protect its domestic livestock from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the Mexican government in July 1999 proposed a regulation that would have effectively cut off imports of U.S. meat and bone, even though the United States has never had a case of BSE. Mexico is the largest market for U.S. renderers, taking one-quarter of U.S. meat and bone exports annually valued at over $20 million. In response, the NRA, under the direction of Regional Director Alberto Celis, launched a year-long campaign to educate the Mexican authorities about the measures taken by the U.S. government and the North American rendering industry to protect the livestock industries from BSE, thereby, assuring export customers BSE-free products.

This campaign paid off. By managing the issue with technical experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, the matter did not become entangled in the myriad of other U.S.-Mexican trade disputes.

Also, for the first time, Mexico established a technical review commission that held extensive hearings. As a result, there are strong indications that when published, the Mexican regulation will not in any way impede sales of U.S. meat and bone meal to Mexico.

Mexico is also the largest market for U.S. edible tallow and lard, over $40 million yearly. Twice in 2000, Celis was able in a very timely manner to come to the aid of this perishable business. In November, he worked with the Mexican authorities to free up rail cars of edible tallow held at the border over a health certification difference. Since already known to the Mexican authorities as the representative of the U.S. rendering industry, he was able to expeditiously reach an agreement, thereby eliminating the certification issue for the delayed cars and for future shipments as well.

Earlier in the year, at the urging of the U.S. rendering industry, Celis was able to obtain agreement from the Mexican authorities on lard processing requirements, thereby maintaining the number of border points at which this product can enter Mexico even though Mexico had reduced the number of crossing points for human consumption products.

The NRA values the partnership it has with the FAS. Without it, these successes in Mexico would not have been possible, products would have backed up on the domestic market, and returns to renderers, and ultimately to U.S. livestock producers, would have been lower.