Paraguay Adds Mexico as New Destination for Its Beef Exports

Paraguay added Mexico as a new destination for its beef exports after the National Animal Health and Quality Service (Senacsa) confirmed the sanitary authorization granted by Mexico's National Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality Service (Senasica). The approval covers ten Paraguayan meatpacking plants, which will be able to ship boneless, aged beef to the Mexican market.

According to Senacsa president José Carlos Martin, Paraguay will have access to a 70,000-ton zero-tariff quota starting January 1. That quota, however, is not exclusive to the country: Mexico set it up as a shared allocation for suppliers without a free trade agreement, including Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, which will compete for the same volume. Outside that quota, tariffs can reach 20% for fresh or chilled beef and 25% for frozen products. Martin also noted that Mexico imported around 290,000 tons of beef in 2025.

The opening of the market resulted from meetings and audits between Senacsa and Senasica. In May, Mexican technicians inspected Paraguay's central laboratory and the interested meatpacking plants, and in September technical discussions between both countries continued. The process also included traceability requirements, with Paraguay obligated to report every six months on progress in its individual livestock identification system.

The authorization requires meatpacking plants to comply with deboning and aging procedures along with the corresponding sanitary controls, and to keep the beef under controlled temperature from the plant to its destination. Since Paraguay has no maritime coastline, its shipments will depend on land and river corridors to regional ports, requiring coordination among meatpacking plants, carriers and port operators to meet delivery deadlines.

Beef is Paraguay's second-largest export product after soybeans: between January and September 2026 the country exported 210,100 tons worth US$1,477.5 million, according to the Central Bank of Paraguay, while figures cited through July 2026 put the exported value at around US$1,120 million. With Mexico's approval, Paraguay completes sanitary access to the three major North American markets, having previously obtained authorization to export to the United States in 2023 and to Canada in 2024, in a Mexican market of nearly 120 million consumers.