Lubbock, Texas – The closure of the US-Mexico border to the transit of cattle threatens the future of Texas' livestock industry while driving a boom in the Mexican state of Coahuila.
Since the Trump administration closed the border to Mexican livestock last year, Texas' cattle industry has contracted by about $100 billion.
All of this has sent the cost of beef to record highs as supply dropped to a 75-year-low across the US.
Transit of cattle across the border was cut off last July over a massive outbreak of screwworm in Mexico, which local authorities have struggled to keep under control.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum decried the import halt at the time, calling the decision "totally exaggerated."
Texas' cattle woes are not purely due to the screwworm outbreak in Mexico, which has infested about 28,000 animals. Severe drought has also caused problems, fueling wildfires.
Imported Mexican cows made up about 4–5% of all US beef. They were largely sent to the US for fattening at feedlots and then slaughter at Texas' abattoirs.
"If they end up feeding and processing them in Mexico, how are we winning?" Kyle Williams, Lubbock Feeders' manager and part owner, asked Reuters.
"We're giving this to them on a silver platter, the feeding industry. That's work, that's labor, that's people that are not getting to do it here in the US."
Meanwhile, the cattle industry in Mexico's northern state of Coahuila is booming, as farmers are now exporting the beef that would have previously been processed in Texas. Their success has triggered a push for federal expansion.
This is likely to become an even bigger problem after the detection of screwworm in a Texas cow last week, which triggered a scramble to keep the deadly pest from spreading.