Reuters – Mexico blocked all shipments from the world’s largest pork plant in North Carolina due to concerns about the quality of hog skins from the Smithfield Foods facility, the company said June 21.
The halt in shipments from the plant in Tar Heel, in eastern North Carolina, is a hit to the U.S. pork sector. The facility became ineligible to export to Mexico June 16, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Mexico was the biggest export market for U.S. pork by volume before being surpassed by China in 2020. A major buyer of hams, Mexico in 2019 purchased about 708,00 metric tons of U.S. pork worth nearly $1.3 billion.
