National Beef Month Spotlight: Red Meat Symposium Spotlights Expanding U.S.-Mexico Trade Potential

Industry leaders gather in Mexico City to strengthen trade and showcase product quality.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (USMEF) — It is National Beef Month, and U.S. red meat is taking center stage in Mexico City. The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) recently hosted its Red Meat Symposium, bringing together exporters and buyers to expand trade opportunities.

USMEF Regional Director for Mexico and Central America Gerardo Rodriguez says the inaugural event was designed to connect exporters with strong potential partners. He says that consumers can tell the higher quality of beef and are willing to pay for it as well.

“You see a lot of high-quality products,” Rodriguez explains. “They know about the quality. They appreciate it. They are able to pay for the premium.”

The trip also gave U.S. industry leaders a closer look at how red meat moves through Mexico’s food system. National Pork Board member Jess Stevens, one of 18 industry leaders who traveled with USMEF to the symposium, says visiting local markets offered a different perspective.

“For me, just seeing swinging sides of beef, and people chopping them up right next to where we would buy the product, is such a big bifurcation from the market we would have in the U.S. It’s a lot to take in at once,” Stevens continued, “We talked about the export market, but this is really making it alive and real for me.”

All month long, RFD News is highlighting beef producers who help feed families across the country and around the world. To find more stories and recipes that celebrate beef, CLICK HERE: May is National Beef Month!

Knoxville native Neal Burnette-Irwin is a graduate from MTSU where he majored in Journalism and Entertainment Studies. He works as a digital content producer with RFD News and is represented by multiple talent agencies in Nashville and Chicago.


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