Mexico overtakes Japan as the world’s largest pork importer
Mexico imported a record 1.6 million tonnes of pork in 2025, up 8.8%, surpassing Japan as the world’s largest buyer. The United States remained its dominant supplier, while Canada, Brazil and the European Union intensified competition for the expanding market.
Imports reach a record 1.6 million tonnes
Mexico became the world’s largest pork importer in 2025, overtaking Japan after five years of steadily rising foreign purchases. According to El Economista, citing data from the US Department of Agriculture, Mexican imports increased 8.8% from 2024 to a record 1.6 million tonnes. Japan imported 1.46 million tonnes, a year-on-year decline of 1.8%.
The shift reflects a substantial expansion in Mexico’s reliance on imported pork. Its purchases have risen from 945,000 tonnes in 2020, meaning the annual volume increased by 655,000 tonnes over five years. The latest total placed Mexico 140,000 tonnes ahead of Japan, traditionally one of the most important destinations for pork exporters.
Imported meat primarily supplies Mexican industrial processors and the food-service channel. Sausage, cold-cut and canned-meat manufacturers use primary cuts and frozen trimmings that offer high processing yields and help control operating costs. This demand profile makes Mexico particularly important for suppliers able to provide large, consistent volumes of processing-grade pork.
United States retains a dominant position
Mexico’s pork imports were worth $3.9 billion in 2025, according to World Trade Organization data reported by El Economista. The United States supplied $3.1 billion of that total, followed by Canada with $552 million and Brazil with $218 million. The figures show that the United States accounted for the large majority of the market by value, although alternative suppliers have established significant positions.
Competition is becoming more visible in monthly US export performance. The USDA said Mexico remained the leading destination for US pork exported in May, but shipments were 5% lower than a year earlier. The department attributed the decline partly to broad competition from Canada, Brazil and the European Union. It expected that pressure to persist during the second quarter before US sales began recovering in the summer quarter.
Brazil’s recent volumes also show that access to a growing market does not guarantee uninterrupted gains for every supplier. Mexico ranked as the eighth-largest destination for Brazilian pork exports in the first half of 2026, according to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association. Shipments totaled 28,858 tonnes, down 5.8% year on year. Brazil nevertheless remains the world’s third-largest pork exporter, behind its leading global positions in chicken and beef exports.
Domestic output does not cover consumption
Mexico produced 1.365 million tonnes of pork in 2025 and exported 190,000 tonnes, while importing 1.6 million tonnes. Those flows imply domestic consumption of 2.775 million tonnes. Imports were therefore larger than national production, underlining their role in supplying processors, restaurants and other domestic buyers while Mexico continued to participate in export markets.
For global pork companies, Mexico’s rise changes the commercial balance among major destination markets. The scale of its processing sector supports demand for frozen cuts and trimmings, while its concentration on US supply creates an opening that Canadian, Brazilian and European exporters are trying to widen. Japan remains a market of comparable scale, but the contrasting 2025 growth rates indicate that incremental global demand is increasingly being shaped by Mexico.
