November 14, 2026. On Thursday, November 12, in Beijing, China's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Zhang Zhu, met Mexico's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Columba Jazmín López Gutiérrez. She led a delegation of 16 Mexican companies to the 23rd China Agricultural Trade Fair (CATF). Mexico's Agriculture ministry says it was the first meeting at this level since 2019.
What Mexico brought
The delegation included eight exporters and eight importers of Mexican products. They showed specialty coffee, avocado and avocado products, organic banana, banana flour, tequila, mezcal and other cane spirits. According to 3tres3, citing the ministry, agri-food trade between the two countries is about 1.2 billion dollars, with products such as tequila, seafood and banana. "We want to diversify and strengthen this exchange so more Mexican products reach the world," López Gutiérrez said.
Cooperation topics
China's ministry said López Gutiérrez showed interest in five areas of Chinese experience:
- Farm machinery for hillside land.
- Use of livestock and poultry waste.
- Restoration of degraded land.
- Plant genetic resources.
- Staff training.
Zhang Zhu proposed working on agricultural supply and value chains, making international chains more resilient, and more exchange in farm science and technology so Chinese equipment fits Mexican conditions better.
Sanitary protocols
Separately, Senasica director Javier Calderón Elizalde met Zhang Baofeng, deputy head of China's General Administration of Customs, on customs, inspection and quarantine cooperation. Tierra Fuerte reports that pending sanitary protocols for new Mexican products were reviewed. The sources do not say which products or when, so wait for an official announcement before planning a shipment.
Our take
For Mexican food producers, China needs two things before goods can enter: a valid protocol for the product and a plant registered with Chinese customs. For Mexican farms, Chinese makers build machinery for small plots.
- Prepare market entry with our export to China service.
- Find and compare farm machinery makers through our sourcing team, with spare parts in the contract.
- Ask for a DDP quote to know the final cost delivered to your warehouse.
