Agrifood Sector Strengthens Food Safety, Sanitary Cooperation

Public and private sector leaders are strengthening collaboration to improve agrifood health and food safety as Mexico faces rising sanitary risks, including the New World screwworm, while expanding export opportunities through new trade and phytosanitary agreements. Increased investment in prevention, surveillance and SENASICA's institutional capacity is considered essential to protecting agricultural production, sustaining international market access and supporting Mexico’s trade diversification strategy. The measures affect producers, exporters, livestock and crop industries, and international trading partners.

Public and private sector stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collaboration to extend sanitary and food safety measures across all stages of production, ensuring safe and healthy food for Mexican consumers.

During the opening of the 4th National Congress on Agrifood Health and Food Safety 2026, organized by the National Agricultural Council (CNA), Leonel Cota Montaño, Undersecretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), highlighted that despite the challenges currently facing the agrifood sector, small- and medium-scale producers continue to demonstrate resilience, commitment and the capacity to supply sufficient, high-quality and nutritious food.

He noted that President Claudia Sheinbaum has instructed the federal government to prioritize the needs of farmers, livestock producers, fishers and aquaculture producers. In this regard, he highlighted the work being carried out by the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA) to eradicate the New World screwworm as quickly as possible from national territory.

Regarding trade issues, Cota emphasized the ministry’s commitment to strengthening relationships with international partners to diversify markets, ensure a stable supply of safe and healthy food, and create new opportunities for Mexican producers to access a broader range of export destinations.

This year alone, Mexico signed the Modernized Global Agreement with the European Union, which is expected to expand opportunities for Mexican agrifood exports. Under the agreement, 86% of Mexico’s agricultural and fisheries products will gain duty-free access to the European Union immediately upon its entry into force, with additional tariff reductions phased in over seven years. The updated framework also simplifies sanitary and phytosanitary procedures, reduces technical barriers to trade and protects geographical indications, creating new export opportunities for products such as avocados, berries, honey, beef, pork, poultry, processed foods and tequila.

Beyond Europe, the country is also expanding its presence in Asian markets. In June, Japan authorized imports of fresh Mexican bell peppers following the completion of bilateral sanitary protocols, opening a high-value market for producers. Meanwhile, the government is advancing negotiations with China to secure phytosanitary approval for sorghum exports from Sinaloa, a move expected to create new commercial opportunities for grain producers and reduce dependence on traditional markets.

In this context, Alan Elizondo, Director General, Trust Funds for Rural Development (FIRA), said Mexican producers and packing companies have earned a strong reputation worldwide for maintaining high sanitary and food safety standards. These standards, he said, help ensure domestic food supply while enabling surplus production to reach international markets.

Prevention Key to Protecting Agrifood Production

Jorge Esteve, President, CNA, called for strengthening prevention, surveillance and response systems to anticipate emerging pests and diseases that could threaten food production, agricultural exports and millions of jobs.

He argued that the country must move beyond a reactive approach and prioritize prevention, warning that the factors driving the emergence and spread of diseases are intensifying. Esteve noted that climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation and increasing flows of trade and people are creating favorable conditions for the spread of new pests and diseases.

The business leader said the reemergence of the New World screwworm in the region demonstrates the high cost of delayed action and stressed that a preventive strategy would have been significantly less expensive than responding to a full-scale sanitary emergency. “Prevention costs one, remediation costs 10 and a catastrophic failure costs 100,” he stated.

He explained that losses associated with the outbreak have already exceeded US$2 billion, while the costs of containing the pest continue to rise. He also criticized certain trade measures adopted by the United States, such as the temporary closure of the border to Mexican cattle, arguing that they were not based on scientific criteria.

Among the threats identified by specialists and sanitary authorities are antimicrobial resistance, emerging animal and plant diseases, and risks such as African swine fever, which is currently present in the Dominican Republic. Esteve recalled that the disease devastated a large portion of China’s pork industry and could have severe economic consequences if it were to reach Mexico.

Against this backdrop, he insisted that SENASICA’s capabilities must be strengthened. The agency is responsible for monitoring and protecting the health of Mexico’s agrifood sector. In this regard, the CNA president urged both government and private industry to increase funding for the agency, noting that its budget has fallen by more than 50% over the past decade despite continued growth in agrifood production during the same period.

He emphasized that safeguarding agrifood health is not solely the responsibility of government institutions but requires close collaboration with the private sector to anticipate and address potential threats. “It is important for the private sector to contribute to these costs because the stakes are so high for all of us and for the country. We must find ways to jointly address these challenges,” he underscored.

Esteve added that it is necessary to establish a fair funding mechanism for these efforts, given the significant consequences of inadequate agricultural health systems, particularly for small producers who often lack access to pest and disease specialists.

Finally, he called on the private sector to serve as a frontline early warning system for current and emerging challenges. He also stressed the need to consolidate sanitary regionalization across the Americas and adopt integrated protection practices under the One Health framework as a reference point for addressing sanitary challenges affecting more than 3 million small-scale producers in Mexico.

Alejandra Díaz Rodríguez, Specialist in the Agricultural Health, Food Safety and Agrifood Quality Program, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), emphasized that governments and private-sector stakeholders must strengthen their institutional and human capacities to prevent, control and eradicate pests and diseases. She highlighted the importance of simulation exercises, training for producers, veterinarians and animal health specialists, as well as broader public awareness efforts.

During the event, the CNA and the International Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA) signed a collaboration agreement aimed at developing joint projects to strengthen sanitary and food safety systems across the Americas.

Raúl Rodas Suazo, Executive Director of OIRSA, praised Mexico’s response to the spread of the New World screwworm and noted that SENASICA was among the first institutions to warn of the need to contain the pest in Central America. He explained that measures implemented in southeastern Mexico significantly slowed the pest’s expansion into other regions of the country.