Mexico's Sterile Fly Plant Boosts Hopes for U.S. Border Reopening to Cattle

A new sterile fly production facility in Mexico's southern state of Chiapas is poised to reassure the United States and facilitate the reopening of the border for Mexican cattle exports. The plant, a joint investment by Mexico and the U.S., is designed to combat the costly screwworm pest.

Officials from Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development recently toured the facility in Metapa de Domínguez, confirming it has received its initial biological material to begin breeding sterile flies. The project's coordinator, Humberto Gómez Velásquez, stated the goal is to produce 100 million sterile flies per week, a target expected to be met by the end of 2026. This production will bolster existing efforts, adding to the 100 million flies produced weekly at a plant in Pacora, Panama.

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will provide the confidence to the neighboring country for the reopening of the border

The facility, which commenced operations on June 28, is projected to produce its first 28 million sterile flies weekly by mid-July. These flies will be dispatched daily to packing centers in Tampico, Mexico, or Texas, U.S. The project represents a significant binational effort, with a total investment of $57 million. Mexican scientists and engineers are also developing a new fly strain within Mexico, aiming for faster eradication of the pest.

The screwworm infestation, whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, particularly cattle, reappeared in Mexico in late 2024 after being eradicated in 1991. Its resurgence prompted the U.S. to impose temporary restrictions on Mexican cattle imports, resulting in substantial losses for the livestock sector and renewed trade tensions between the two nations. The sterile fly strategy involves releasing the flies to mate with wild populations, thereby reducing the pest's numbers.

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All that you are seeing here is being done by Mexico, Mexican personnel, Mexican researchers, and we are very pleased about that, as we are developing various processes that will help make eradication faster.