Canada and Mexico strengthen agri-food cooperation underneath the 2025–2028 Action Plan

October 16, 2025 – Mexico City, Mexico – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Heath MacDonald and the Mexico Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué, met on Tuesday, October 14 to debate bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation and commerce ties between the 2 international locations. 

This assembly is a part of the Canada–Mexico Action Plan 2025–2028, introduced on September 18, 2025, by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, by means of which each governments reaffirmed their dedication to advancing a dynamic bilateral agenda geared toward reaching shared targets over the subsequent 3 years.

Through these actions, Canada and Mexico search to proceed strengthening their function as strategic companions within the international agri-food commerce fostering a sustainable, inclusive, and rising sector that enabled agri-food commerce between each international locations to extend by 50% from 2018 to 2023.

During the assembly, each officers emphasised the strategic significance of the Canada–Mexico relationship in making certain sustainable, resilient, and inclusive meals methods. They highlighted progress in agri-food commerce, scientific analysis, technological innovation, and sustainable rural improvement, in addition to their shared curiosity in increasing technical and business cooperation.

Minister MacDonald acknowledged Mexico’s key function as a strategic international companion and bolstered the alternatives to strengthen bilateral commerce and technical cooperation, notably within the grain, oilseeds, horticulture and animal protein sectors, whereas respecting every nation’s inspection and regulatory methods.

Secretary Berdegué underscored the necessity to strengthen built-in North American worth chains, promote sustainable productiveness, and reinforce cooperation mechanisms to handle widespread challenges comparable to local weather change, animal and plant well being, and the transition towards low-emission agriculture. 

The Minister and Secretary emphasised the significance of science and know-how collaboration and sharing of experience. They dedicated to convening a gathering of scientists from each departments to establish areas of additional collaboration and to report again inside the subsequent 6 months.

Mexico has accepted Canada’s proposal to ease import necessities for eligible apples from Eastern Canadian Provinces beginning in January 2026 and significant progress has been made on mutual laboratory and inspection recognition. In addition, Canada and Mexico have agreed to a brand new certificates that may present new entry for Canadian pet meals that comprises bovine substances to the Mexican market.

Canada has additionally accepted to determine a joint working group to research and suggest measures to assist regulatory recognition in meat and seafood.

Both international locations additionally agreed to advance the implementation of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Work Plan to develop market entry and guarantee aggressive, protected, and high-quality merchandise for customers and processors. Additionally, Canada and Mexico agreed to undertake digital certification for plant merchandise comparable to canola and wheat and to proceed to work in direction of growth of this software to different merchandise to facilitate environment friendly commerce for each international locations.

Leveraging present mechanisms such because the Canada-Mexico Consultative Committee and Agri-Business Working Group, they agreed to strengthen collaboration and data alternate centered on meals safety, competitiveness, commerce growth and diversification. 

Concurrent with the ministerial assembly, an industry-led Mexico–Canada Agri-business Dialogue with sector leaders from each international locations was held to establish collaboration alternatives to extend bilateral commerce and tackle challenges associated to agri-food product facilitation within the quick and medium time period.

At the conclusion of the dialogue, Minister MacDonald and Secretary Berdegué met with members to listen to concrete suggestions to extend and facilitate bilateral agri-food commerce in an effort to make sure a aggressive, sustainable, and resilient agricultural sector within the face of world challenges.

These conferences happen in a context of renewed momentum in bilateral relations, following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s go to to Mexico and President Claudia Sheinbaum’s go to to Alberta through the G7 Summit, which offered new alternatives to deepen cooperation in sustainable agribusiness, and inclusive commerce, whereas benefiting economies in each nations.