MEXICO CITY, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday said she hoped the United States would reopen its border to Mexican cattle "as soon as possible," after an outbreak of screwworm led to a 15-day suspension of live cattle imports on May 11.
"We are waiting for the border to open as soon as possible, but there is ongoing dialogue," the president said at a daily press conference.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had announced the 15-day suspension as a way to curb the spread of screwworm and assess the situation.
According to data from the National Customs Agency of Mexico, in the first quarter of this year, Mexico exported just 202,000 head of cattle, much lower than the 504,000 registered in the same period of 2024, due to the screwworm outbreak.
The screwworm, endemic to South America, reappeared in Panama in 2023 after decades of eradication and then traveled more than 3,700 km until reaching Mexico's southern border in November 2024, according to the Mexican government.
Mexico's northern states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango and Tamaulipas, which export live cattle to the United States, have strengthened epidemiological surveillance and implemented a 100 percent animal inspection program to prevent the spread of screwworm. ■
