Minister MacDonald concludes successful outreach to Mexico

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 17, 2025 /CNW/ - The Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, concluded a four-day trade and relationship-building trip to Mexico to reinforce Canada's commitment to strengthen commercial ties and promote Canadian agriculture and agri-food.  

Building off Prime Minister Mark Carney's recent trip to Mexico and the Canada-Mexico Action Plan, Minister MacDonald met with Mexico's Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué where they discussed the importance of working collaboratively on mutual priorities with an emphasis on the resiliency of Canada-Mexico food supply chains, trade, food security and diversification. 

While in Mexico City, Minister MacDonald delivered closing remarks at the Canada-Mexico Agribusiness Dialogue. The Minister reiterated Canada's commitment to continue working with industry to advance international trade ties and shared Canada's views on the importance of achieving more sustainable, resilient and diverse agriculture and agri-food systems.

The Minister, alongside Canada Beef, the Canadian Meat Council and JBS Foods participated in the official launch of Canadian beef products in 42 Costco Mexico stores. Minister MacDonald emphasized Canada's role as a reliable supplier of beef products and the nation's commitment to the Canada-Mexico trade relationship.

To conclude his outreach in Mexico City, Minister MacDonald met with Mexico's largest flour miller, Grupo Trimex, who is a valued and long-standing trade partner for Canada and the largest Mexican importer of Canadian wheat. Canada has exported 3.9 million metric tonnes of wheat worth CAD$ 1.5 billion to Mexico since January 2020.The company is expanding into Canadian oats and canola, with newly acquired facilities already processing products of Canadian origin. This relationship is a testament to Canada's reputation for high quality exports.

In Guadalajara, Minister MacDonald met key state organizations and businesses to learn more about market dynamics, opportunities and expansion of Canadian oilseeds and grains in the Mexico market.

The Minister also met with two leading importers of Canadian canola seed, Aceites, Grasas y Derivados (AGYDSA) and Oleomex, where he expressed appreciation for their continued partnerships and promoted Canada as a committed and reliable supplier of oilseeds.

AGYDSA has been Mexico's leading canola seed importer since the late 1980s, and a key trading partner for Canada. Since January 2020, Canada has exported 5.9 million metric tonnes of canola seed to Mexico, worth CAD$ 4.53 billion. Minister MacDonald visited their processing facilities and saw first-hand Canadian canola being processed and bottled.

The Minister's meetings continued with Oleomex's, where the company highlighted their plan to double its canola imports over the next three to five years.  

In addition, Minister MacDonald met with key senior executives of Grupo Industrial Vida (GIV), a key investor in the Canadian oat sector in Alberta and Manitoba and the largest importer of Canadian oats in Mexico. He took the opportunity to highlight the company's expansion plan to increase current oat processing capacity in Canada through the Foreign Direct Investment in Alberta and Manitoba and to thank them for their continued partnership and promotion of Canadian oats. Canadian oat exports to Mexico since January 2020 have been worth CAD$224 million with a volume of 658,000 metric tonnes. 

Minister MacDonald's trip underscores Canada's commitment to strengthen agricultural ties with Mexico, to increase and diversify agriculture and agri-food trade, and to promote the Canada brand.  

Quotes 

"The partnership between Mexico and Canada stands as a vital bridge that strengthens both economies and fosters innovation, sustainability, and shared prosperity. We will continue to work with Mexico to create new opportunities, such as increased market access for our products to help build a stronger, more resilient future for our sector."
-       The Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Quick Facts 

• Mexico is a strategic and growing agri-food trade partner for Canada. In 2024, bilateral trade reached C$6.9 billion--a 44.8 per cent increase since 2019--driven by complementary exports and imports.
• Canada's exports to Mexico (C$2.2B) are led by pork, canola, wheat, and beef, while imports (C$4.7B) include mostly fresh produce and tequila.
• In September, Canada and Mexico launched a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to deepen ties between our two countries to help build opportunities for trade and investment - from energy and infrastructure to critical minerals and agriculture. Other priorities include environmental conservation, development of long-term infrastructure, and bilateral security to disrupt transnational organized crime, drug and human trafficking, money laundering, and cybercrime.
• This robust relationship is underpinned by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP), enabling integrated supply chains.
• In 2024, Mexico ranked as the 12^th largest importer of agri-food products in the world, with imports of C$63.5 billion. Approximately 40 per cent of food consumed in Mexico is imported. Top suppliers of agri-food and seafood products to Mexico were the United States (49.8 per cent), followed by Brazil (3.6 per cent), Canada (3.5 per cent), China (2.0 per cent), and Spain (1.4 per cent).

Additional Links 

• CUSMA
• CPTPP
• Prime Minister Carney announces new partnership with Mexico to elevate ties across trade, energy, and security
• Canada Brand

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SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Contacts: For media: Axandre Lemours, Special Assistant - Communications Advisor, Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, [email protected]; Media Relations, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 613-773-7972, 1-866-345-7972, [email protected]