Mexico‑US Inaugurate Sterile Fly Plant in Chiapas to Combat Screwworm

On 27 June 2026 senior officials from Mexico and the United States opened a binational sterile‑fly production facility in Metapa de Domínguez, Chiapas. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson attended the ceremony.

The plant, converted from a former Moscamed factory, was built at a cost of about $61 million, with the United States adding a further $83.8 million. It will eventually produce up to 100 million sterile flies each week, using the Sterile Insect Technique to suppress the New World screwworm (gusano barrenador) that has infected more than 30,000 animals in Mexico and spread into Texas, prompting temporary U.S. restrictions on live‑cattle imports.

The new capacity is expected to double the number of sterile insects available beyond the Panama‑U.S. COPEG plant, helping to restore livestock health, protect the cattle trade and reinforce regional food‑security cooperation between the two neighbours.