Screwworm Outbreak Devastates US Beef Industry, Mexico Seizes Market Share

(Central News Agency, Lubbock, Texas, 6th, Combined Foreign Reports) Lubbock Feeders in West Texas, which has been raising cattle since the era of former President Dwight Eisenhower, is now left with rows of empty cattle pens.

According to Reuters, after the US suspended the import of live cattle from Mexico last year, this 70-year-old feedlot faced closure due to supply disruptions. The operator noted that most of its cattle previously came from Mexico.

The US government suspended the import of Mexican live cattle in an attempt to prevent the entry of the New World screwworm. This week, a ranch in Texas reported the first case of screwworm infestation in 60 years, dealing another blow to the US beef industry, which was already under pressure from supply shortages, the Trump administration's tariff policies, and severe drought.

In contrast, the beef cattle industry in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila presents a different picture. While it used to export live cattle to the US, it has now shifted to exporting beef.

In Texas, the largest cattle-producing state in the US, the border closure has forced the $100 billion beef industry to scale back. However, in Mexico, despite the screwworm infecting approximately 28,000 animals, the beef cattle industry has seized the opportunity to expand feedlot and slaughter-processing facilities, moving up the supply chain to capture higher profits. Data shows that in the first four months of 2026, Mexican beef exports to the US grew significantly.

Kyle Williams, manager and co-owner of Lubbock Feeders, said, "If it's all going to be finished and processed in Mexico, what's in it for us?" He criticized that the US is ceding the entire industrial chain, along with jobs and human resources, which are no longer staying in the country.

US beef prices hit an all-time high this year, driven by the ban on cattle imports from Mexico, as well as drought leading to wildfires and forcing ranchers to reduce herd sizes, resulting in the lowest domestic cattle numbers in 75 years.

The US previously imported over a million head of cattle annually from Mexico, accounting for about 4% to 5% of the total cattle used for US beef production.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) stated that it may still be possible to safely resume imports in the future, provided that quarantine and treatment procedures are implemented at ports of entry.

The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that can infect all warm-blooded animals. Females lay eggs in wounds on animals, and the infestation can be treated if caught early. During an outbreak in the 20th century, the US released large numbers of sterile flies from a facility in Texas, eventually controlling the outbreak, but it took the entire beef industry 30 years to recover. (Editor: Shih Shih) 1150607