The national agricultural sector and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development met to analyze the progress achieved in plant and animal health cooperation to protect food production and diversify markets.
During the working session of the National Agricultural Council (CNA) and the National Service of Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality (Senasica), they highlighted the importance of these two issues for the national supply of sufficient healthy and safe food for the population and to trigger development in rural communities in the country.
Within the framework of the working meeting, the topics of technical cooperation and joint actions for the sanitary strengthening of the sector were discussed, as a continuation of the Agreement signed by the heads of both organizations in November 2020.
Among the topics discussed was the interest of agricultural producers in opening markets for the export of vegetable products such as avocados, strawberries, mangoes, peppers and asparagus to Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, China and Malaysia.
Likewise, the producers and the federal authority made a commitment to work towards the export of vegetable products from Jalisco, Sinaloa, State of Mexico, Michoacán and Baja California to markets in the Americas and Europe, as well as to the Asian bloc.
With regard to animal products, the participants discussed the progress made in opening the markets of China, the Philippines, Colombia, Vietnam and Israel for Mexican pork and beef products, as well as expediting the legal importation of cattle from Central American countries, such as Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua and Honduras.
The chief director of Senasica, Javier Calderón Elizalde, indicated that the follow-up of the work carried out in the framework of the Agreement is of vital importance for the Ministry of Agriculture, since the coordinated work to advance in health issues is a key element to guarantee the supply of safe food for the population.
He stressed that this joint work between the health authority and the productive sector makes it possible to boost competitiveness and thus detonate the development of the country's rural communities.
He pointed out that joint efforts are necessary to examine the current work model, which allows identifying areas with potential for improvement, through production practices that allow the domestic market to flow without interruptions and guarantee the supply of healthy and safe food for Mexicans.
The General Director of Plant Health of Senasica, Francisco Ramirez y Ramirez, explained that a fundamental part of the progress between the two agencies is the support and interest shown by producers, in order to strengthen programs that contribute to the phytosanitary strengthening of the regions of the country, as is the case of the National Campaign against the Fruit Fly.
Senasica was represented by the General Directors of Agrifood, Aquaculture and Fisheries Safety, Leandro David Soriano García, and of Phytosanitary Inspection, Jorge Luis Leyva Vázquez, and the Directors of Phytosanitary Regulation, Israel Cueto Espinosa, of Agrifood Safety, Organic Operation, José Luis Lara de la Cruz, and of Animal Health Campaigns, Gabriel Ayala Borunda.
The CNA was represented by the Vice President of Health and Safety, Mario Puente; the Director of Foreign Trade, Norberto Valencia; the Foreign Trade Analyst, Omar Flores; the Export Programs Manager, Luis Javier Mendoza; the Secretary of the Board of Directors, Armando Celis; and the General Director of the National Association of Berry Exporters (Aneberries), Juan José Flores García.
Also in attendance were the director of the Commission for the Investigation and Defense of Sinaloa Vegetables of the Confederation of Agricultural Associations of the State of Sinaloa (CAADES, by its Spanish acronym), Mario Robles, and the head of the Safety area of the Association of Producers and Packers of Avocado Exporters of Mexico (APEAM, by its Spanish acronym), Ubaldo Rodríguez Álvarez.