The US is set to resume Mexican cattle imports Thursday at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, the border’s largest livestock-inspection port. Officials expect 750 to 1,600 cattle daily, but they take five to eight months to reach slaughter, delaying possible beef-price relief.
USDA halted Mexican cattle imports last year to keep out New World screwworm, which can decimate untreated cattle. New Mexico officials backed the restart, citing treatment protocols, the low US case count and USDA’s use of sterile flies. USDA reports two active US cases, including a horse about 160 miles from Santa Teresa; officials are investigating how it became infested. USDA has not confirmed wildlife infestations or caught wild screwworm flies in traps, raising questions about the case count’s accuracy.
The import ban helped push US ground beef to a record near $7 per pound last month. The US had 86.2 million cattle in January, the lowest total in 75 years; persistent dryness has led ranchers to keep shrinking herds over the past seven years. Santa Teresa inspected about 43% of Mexican cattle imports over the past five years. USDA says it will next consider reopening a port in Columbus, New Mexico.
