Mexico: Swine industry performance in 2022

• Pork production increased by 2.6% compared to the previous year going from 1,686,802 tons in 2021 to 1,730,319 tons (t) in 2022.

• Imports totaled 1,445,795 t, an increase of 9.0% compared to 2021 (1,327,026 t), while the value of imports reached 3.0353 billion USD, 25.3% higher than in 2021 and representing an average price of USD 2.10/kg.

• Exports decreased by 11.9% compared to the previous year, going from 262,663 to 231,441 t with a value of 938.2 million USD, lower than the 1.0302 billion USD consolidated in 2021, which represents a decrease of 8.9%.

• Apparent consumption reached 2,944,673 t, which represents a 7.0% increase compared to 2021 (2,751,165 t), while per capita consumption is estimated at 23.03 kg/habitant, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%.

The results seen in 2022 reflect the strength of demand, which stems from the combination of different factors. On the one hand, consumer prices for pork were highly competitive throughout the year, being more favorable than those of beef and chicken, thus influencing household purchasing decisions in these times of high inflation. On the other hand, the growth of the processed pork and sausage industry, which requires increasingly more pork, as well as the production of specialized domestic cuts that compete with imported cuts, contributed greatly to the growth of Mexican pork production, despite the large volume of imports.

Foreign sales were mainly affected by the decrease in purchases from China, which bought 62.4% less product from Mexico in 2022.