Alberta beef is entering Mexico’s Costco market where American cuts once ruled

Alberta Beef is now available at your local Costco – Mexico.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald was on hand Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of a cooler filled with porterhouse, New York Prime and other cuts of Alberta beef at a Costco in an upscale suburb just beyond the western edge of Mexico City.

“Days like today open the door to the future and we’ll see it grow, there’s no doubt about that,” Macdonald said in an interview with CBC News after the event.

“The partnership is there, you can see it, you can feel it and you can feel it.”

Under the recent agreement between JBS Canada and Costco Mexico, approximately 20,000 tonnes of beef already processed in Brooks, Alta., is being shipped to 41 Costcos throughout Mexico.

Salvador Hernandez, director of JBS Mexico, said the Costco deal provides a “new frontier” for Canadian beef in a market dominated by American beef.

“Today is an important milestone not only for JBS, but for the entire North American beef supply chain,” he said.

According to Claudia Herrera-Blank, senior director of Mexico and Latin America for industry group Canada Beef, it took about a year for JBS Canada to secure the deal, which included Costco Mexico executives visiting the processing plant in Brooks.

Herrera-Blanc said, “Costco is the standard of quality in Mexico. We’ve been looking for it for a long time and finally Costco opened the doors.”

Fresh, boneless beef is Canada’s fourth largest export to Mexico and is covered under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Canadian pet food ban lifted

Alberta Prime joins other Canadian products including maple syrup, rolled oats, ice wine and chicken nuggets on Costco Mexico shelves. An executive at the Costco store, which was the site of the beef announcement, said the store sold about $60,000 US (or $84,000 CDN) worth of Canadian products each week.

Wednesday’s announcement was the second beef-related win for Canadian producers after Macdonald arrived in Mexico for a week of meetings.

Following a meeting on Tuesday between Macdonald and Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Mexican Cabinet Secretary Julio Bardegu Sacristan announced that his country will lift a nearly 18-month ban on the import of Canadian pet foods made from bovine meal.

“I told the minister that at any time, we will accept protocols to facilitate the importation of pet food so that Mexican families can feed their small animals very high quality Canadian foods,” Berdegu Sacristan said.

Mexico does not produce enough pet food to meet domestic demand. Mexico imported approx. $402.7 million Price of pet food in 2024. According to Agriculture Canada data, Canada currently has a market share in the country of about 0.5 per cent.

Macdonald said discussions with his Mexican counterpart also include introducing digital phytosanitary certificates to avoid any disruption to trade in organic products such as wheat and canola.

“It could have a big impact on how fast we can do business,” he said.

Phytosanitary certificates are provided by the exporting country to the importing country to ensure that organic products are free from disease and comply with the regulations of the importing country.

“People want to do business and they want to build relationships, they want to diversify,” McDonald said.

MacDonald is in Mexico until Friday for a series of meetings, including a visit to the city of Guadalajara in Jalisco state.