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The competent Mexican authorities which regulate food and agricultural imports and/or require official U.S. export certificates include the Secretariat of Agriculture (SADER), Secretariat of Health (SALUD), Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), and the Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit (HACIENDA).

This document provides an overview of major Mexican agricultural and food-product laws and regulations, as well as related import standards and regulations. Some products may be subject to regulatory oversight by several different Government of Mexico (GOM) agencies. Post recommends that U.S. food and agricultural exporters work with experienced and established customs brokers and importers.

Even as Mexico's consumers face high core and food inflation, post sees both overall dairy production and imports rising in 2023. Mexico’s milk and cheese production is forecast to rise in 2023 due to increased investments in dairy operations in key producing areas.

On October 19, 2022, the Government of Mexico published a decree to temporarily exempt select importers from payment of import duties for certain goods and to facilitate administrative procedures as applied to the importation of select basic goods (mostly food items).

Fluid milk production will be up slightly in 2023 as a greater number of heifers enter milk production. Demand for dairy products in the hotel, restaurant, and institutional food service industries will be pushed by an influx of foreign tourists, although surplus drinking milk will still be diverted to further processing into butter and non-fat dry milk for which ending stocks will finish higher in 2022.

On October 13, the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) opened a public comment period for proposed revisions to the genetically engineered (GE) labeling requirements of the Food Labeling Standards.

On October 13, the Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) opened a public comment period for the proposed revision to allergy labeling requirements for walnuts in Japan’s Food Labeling Standards. CAA will accept comments in Japanese through November 12, 2022.

On October 4, 2022, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) invited public comments on the proposed Basic Policy for Promoting Decarbonization of Aviation. The proposed policy identifies Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) introduction as a key strategy for reducing CO2 emissions in Japan’s aviation sector.

On September 20, 2022, the Congress of the State of Mexico (one of Mexico’s 32 states) approved the Law for the Promotion and Protection of Local Corn Varieties. The law states that the Government of the State of Mexico will cooperate with Mexico's federal authorities to ensure that local corn varieties in the state are free of genetically engineered (GE) corn.

FAS-Mexico forecasts a nearly 6 percent decrease in sugar production to 6.16 million metric tons raw value (MMT-RV) during marketing year (MY) 2022/23 due to lower rainfall levels and higher input prices. Production for MY2021/22 increased by 8.2 percent to 6.56 MMT-RV, mainly driven by an abundance of rainfall during critical growing months, lower input costs, and historically high prices creating incentives to maintain planted area.

On September 30th, in a revision to its January announcement, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries affirmed that it will increase the tariff-rate quota volumes for butter to 9,788 MT but will hold non-fat dry milk (NFDM) at 750 MT for Japanese fiscal year (JFY) 2021. Total planned imports are estimated to be about 137,000 MT (milk equivalent).

This report is an overview and update of Japan's food and agricultural import regulations and standards (FAIRS). For more information on Japan's certification requirements, see the FAIRS Export Certificate Report for Japan.